Following repeated rejection of imports of Haldiram’s snacks by US FDA (United States Food and Drugs Administration), the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, has undertaken the task of carrying out inspections of the products by seeking samples from the markets in Nagpur and Mumbai.
Giving details on the inspections to FnB News over the telephone, Motiram Chapla Pawar, assistant commissioner, FDA, Nagpur, stated, “The sweets and snacks categories of Haldiram’s are under inspection and the results will be out in 25-30 days.”
US FDA is said to have rejected the products for reasons such as presence of high levels of pesticides, mould and bacteria salmonella.
Pawar added that there were many products, which were under regular inspection and Haldiram’s was one of them.
Elaborating further, Harshdeep S Kamble, commissioner, FDA, Mumbai, stated, “Packaged food products of Haldiram’s are under inspection and the results will be out in next 4-6 days, which will decide what action will be taken or may not be taken. This is a regular inspection to derive whether there is any adulteration pertaining to metals etc. The inspections which are undertaken are in the context of FDA and are not under the guidelines of US FDA. Every manufacturer has to undergo inspections.”
Interestingly, since September 2014, Haldiram's products have been rejected 86 times. Yet, the group claims that its products are safe and reiterates that the issue has been triggered due to the differences in the policies of Indian authorities and US FDA. The US FDA, meanwhile, insisted that presence of salmonella, a bacteria, in the rejected products was one of the reasons for blocking Haldiram's shipments.
