The Food Safety department will maintain heightened vigil at border check-posts to ensure the quality and safety of milk and dairy products brought to Kerala from neighbouring States during the Onam festival season.
An official press note quoting Health Minister Veena George here on Wednesday said food safety officials had been directed to carry out regular inspection of consignments from across the border in association with the Department of Dairy Development. Officials had been deployed on round-the-clock duty at the check-posts at Kumily, Parassala, Aryankavu, Meenakshipuram and Walayar. The inspections would continue up to August 28.
The press note said mobile laboratories had been pressed into service at the check-posts to test the milk and dairy products in transit. Samples would be collected from the tankers and analysed in the laboratories. Samples that test positive for chemical residues would be sent to National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories-accredited (NABL) laboratories under the Food Safety department for detailed analysis.
Based on the test results, action would be taken against consignments violating food safety regulations. Samples of fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and vegetable oils brought from other States would also be collected at the check-posts.
