TIRUPPUR: Following complaints that provisions supplied in PDS shops in the district do not have particulars like expiry date and weight printed on the wrappers, the Tiruppur administration launched an inquiry. Food safety officials will inspect the Tirupur District Consumer Cooperative Wholesale store Ltd, the distributor, regarding this on Tuesday, sources said.
Speaking to TNIE, A Saravanan, a social activist said, “Recently, I bought goods from a PDS shop at Shakti Nagar in Boyampalayam and found broken fried Bengal grams and the Bengal grams (200-gram packet each) did not contain price details, packaged date, or expiry date and weight. When asked about this, the PDS shop salesperson said the items were supplied by Tiruppur District Consumer Cooperative Wholesale store Ltd.”
“Selling products without any details is illegal. Besides, these items could be contaminated as the expiry date isn’t mentioned,” he added. Another social activist, S Ravi said, “Most of the time, salesmen forces card holders to buy these products. This is not just the case of one PDS shop. We found provisions without any particulars mentioned in the cover sold at shops in Sevanthampalayam, Andipalayam, Palanisamy Nagar, Nanjappa Nagar, Veerapandi, Mangalam.”
Shankar, a resident said, “The broken fried Bengal grams are supplied by a single wholesaler but at different prices. For instance, a PDS shop in Boyampalayam sells the item for Rs 25, while another shop in Palanisamy Nagar sells it for Rs 22. Shops in Nanjappa Nagar and Sevathampalayam sell the item for Rs 20 and Rs 22 respectively. They did this because the prices are not mentioned in the packet.”
An official from Tiruppur district administration said, “We have received complaints from the petitioners. Since these PDS shops fall under the cooperative department (Tiruppur division), we directed officials to look into it. Besides, we have initiated inquiry on the matter. A team of food safety officials led by Dr Vijaya Lalithambigai will inspect the facility on Tuesday.”