Chennai: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched a crackdown on the production and sale of non-licensed soft drinks in the state. The move follows after India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted hotter days in Tamil Nadu and health issues were reported among children after consuming such drinks.
Talking to The Indian Express, Dr Satheesh Kumar, designated officer for food safety in Chennai said, we are checking whether the shops selling the drinks have proper FSSAI licenses.
One of the major issues with such small shops is that they sell bottled drinks by exposing them to the sun, he said adding, in such cases the formula of the drink would get changed.
Satheesh Kumar said, the shopkeepers also keep the products on road due to lack of space which in turn affects the quality of the drink.
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Further, FSSAI officer warned the shopkeepers that they would confiscate the drinks kept outside on the road and take appropriate action against the culprits.
The officer also warned the public against buying ice pops sold for Rs 2 and 5 in the market since they are "more dangerous" than bottled drinks. The ice pops would not have the manufacturer's name or expiry date so we have seized several such products, he said.
In the past few years, several children have been complaining about symptoms of nausea, vomiting, dyspnoea among others after drinking non-licensed aerated drinks.
In August last year, a 13-year-old girl collapsed and died at her residence in Besant Nagar after consuming an aerated drink. Her post-mortem revealed that the girl died after suffering from asphyxiation since the drink entered her respiratory system.
Later, the shop and the drink manufacturing unit were shut down.