CUTTACK: The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) on Monday lodged FIRs against 11 people for their alleged involvement in selling adulterated paneer in the city.
The move comes days after laboratory tests revealed presence of maida, starch and detergent in the samples of paneer and cottage cheese seized in Cuttack last month. Few days back, Cuttack food safety officer Amita Das was also transferred in this connection.
City health officer Dr Nrupendra Kumar Satapathy said the persons named in the FIR are small-scale farmers, vendors and middlemen who were involved in bringing the adulterated paneer and cottage cheese from Niali to Cuttack. “They were resorting to unfair means for monetary gains,” he said.
Madhupatna IIC Chittaranjan Rout said they have registered a case against the 11 people and further investigation was underway.
Meanwhile, the detection of adulterants, used by unscrupulous small-scale farmers and vendors to make paneer softer and smoother and increase its weight, has raised concern, prompting the state food safety commission to intensify enforcement in Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Berhampur and Sambalpur.