Raipur. Food and Drug Administration Chhattisgarh has appealed to all the fruit vendors of the state to not sell fruits with stickers. At the same time, they have appealed to the general public to be aware and not buy fruits with stickers.
If any food vendor is found collecting, distributing and selling unsafe food then FDA will take action against him or her under Section 59 of the Food Safety Act 2006 levying a fine and imprisonment.
According to information received from the Controller Food and Drug Administration Chhattisgarh, stickers are being put in whole fruits like apples, mangoes, oranges, guavas, bananas, custard apple, pears etc. sold in the market.
Most traders use a sticker on top of the fruit to show that the fruit is of premium quality or at times to hide flaws in the decayed parts of the fruit. The stickers that are affix on the fruit mention the merchant's brand, and often have ‘OK tested’, ‘best quality’ or the name of the fruit witten on it.
The sticker on the fruit has a chemical and the fruit gets contaminated due to the chemical. The chemical contaminates the fruit making it unhealthy to consume. Under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, food traders are prohibited to collect, distribute, sell unsafe food. Additionally wax, mineral oil, in fruits and vegetables and colour pigmentation by using Acetylene gas is also prohibited.
