Cuttack, Jan. 22: Rising incidents of adulteration in food products have forced the Cuttack district administration to initiate measures to put a stop to such malpractices.

A “special squad” has been constituted to put a check on adulteration of food items. The squad, consisting of officials of the food and civil supplies department, health officials of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation and weight and measures department, will conduct raids on various traders and business establishments, which have already begun.

The squad conducted raids on a number of wholesalers at Malgodown, the largest commercial centre in the state, yesterday.

“We have launched a special drive to check adulteration of food items and special squads have been constituted in this regard,” said sub-collector J.P. Das.

Das said raids had been conducted on various establishments, shops and hotels. Because of recent instances of adulteration and general complaints, the district administration had decided to initiate stern action against those indulging in corrupt practices, he said.

The team also collected samples of dal and edible oil from various godowns at Malgodown yesterday.

“We have conducted raids on four godowns, which sell pulses and mustard oil. We have also collected samples of food items, which will be sent for examination to check for adulteration,” said civil supplies district enforcement inspector G. Mishra.

Mishra said the samples would be sent for tests at the public analytical centre and forensic laboratory in Bhubaneswar. Actions will be taken if there are any irregularities in the samples.

There are over 800 wholesale traders at Malgodown engaged in procurement, sale and distribution of food grains and other products in various parts of the state.

On the other hand, the Cuttack Chamber of Commerce has opposed the district administration’s move. The association claims that no trader is engaged in adulteration at Malgodown. “We have been cooperating with the district administration and it is unfortunate that the food samples have been collected to check for adulteration, a malpractice, which is not committed by the traders here,” said joint secretary of the Cuttack Chamber of Commerce Srikant Sahu.

Sahu further said an emergency meeting had been convened on Monday and a delegation would meet the district collector to submit a memorandum regarding their grievances.

Tangi police had recently busted a fake food-processing unit and seized labels of branded companies that were allegedly used to sell adulterated items. Two persons were arrested in this connection and products worth nearly Rs 5 lakh were seized.