Flood-spoilt fruit drink sold in Srinagar, stock seized

Food safety officers in Srinagar on Tuesday seized over 24,000 bottles of a fruit drink being sold in retail despite having been spoilt in the recent floods.

"We found about 1,000 boxes, containing 24 packs of Treat Mango Juice, that were flood-hit. The packets were re-labelled by the manufacturers," Hilal Ahmad, food safety officer, Srinagar, told IANS over phone from the Jammu and Kashmir capital.

"We have seized all the stock as it was not safe for consumption," he added.

The juice, manufactured in Jammu region of the state, was re-labelled and re-distributed among wholesale dealers in Srinagar.

The authorities have been directed by the high court in Srinagar to destroy all the food items identified as flood-hit.

"We will be destroying all the packets of juice as per the directions of the high court," Ahmad said.

The Srinagar Municipal Corporation had launched a drive in Srinagar, after the devastating September floods, to stop the sale of flood-hit commodities.