Commissioner of Food Safety Biju Prabhakar has issued orders placing food
safety officers V.K. Pradeepkumar and Biby Mathew, attached to the Pattambi
circle and the Shoranur municipality respectively, under suspension for letting
off a food business operator (FBO) after allegedly accepting a bribe.
The orders were issued following preliminary evidence that they had deliberately
violated procedural requirements for seizing an article of food under the Food
Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), in connivance with an FBO so that no action
could be initiated against the latter.
The FBO had been detained for bringing in palm kernel oil from across the
border, suspected to be an adulterant for coconut oil, a press note issued by
the office of the Commissioner said.
The officials had detained a tanker lorry transporting palm kernel oil at
the Walayar check-post on December 5. It was an inter-State stock transfer from
Kaleeswary Refinery Pvt. Ltd., Chennai to their depot in Palakkad.
The safety officials allegedly did not take the surveillance samples from
the detained lorry as per the relevant provisions of the FSSA.
Also, the mahassar was prepared without any independent witnesses signing
the document.
Procedural requirements under the Act such as issuing a seizure memo and
getting the FBO to execute a bond had been violated, the press note said.
To hide all procedural irregularities, an affidavit was made in connivance
with the FBO by purchasing a stamp paper on December 6. The affidavit was but
executed with the date as December 5. Unlike in previous occasions, the
detained vehicle was released without consulting higher authorities, the
Commissioner’s press note added.·
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