Cockroach in food supplement investigated

IMPHAL | Aug 5

Social welfare director, Jacintha Lazarus along with the officials of the department conducted a spot enquiry to investigate a report regarding finding of cockroaches in a food supplement packet at Ghari, Imphal this morning.

During the investigation, the official team thoroughly checked packets of the supplementary food and interacted with beneficiaries of the area. They were shocked to hear that no one had any idea about this complaint and they expressed they were all satisfied with the food.

Addressing media persons following the inspection, the director said in spite of the positive report, in order to clear all doubts regarding the issue, the samples of the food packets has been sent for testing to the Imphal West Food Safety department.

She also asserted that distribution of the supplementary food in the said area will be stopped for the time being till the report arrives.

She also explained that prior to distribution of the food supplements, the department never fail to send samples to Kolkata for proper testing so as to ensure that there is no adulteration.

The director also said that social welfare minister Nemcha Kipgen is also very concerned about the issue. She also said that the Minister herself checks the food products herself before distribution to ensure that the food items are safe for consumption.

During the press meet, the complainant expressed apology that she acted hastily. She said that the food product was used earlier and the cockroach was found only when she opened the packet for the second time and as such, she was not sure whether the insect had entered the packet after it was opened.

Food Safety officer Dinesh Singh, representatives of AISF student body and officials concerned also attended the press meet.