The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has urged the Kerala government to adequately equip laboratories testing surveillance samples and offerings at Sabarimala.
In a Compliance Audit Report for the year ended March 2021 tabled in the State Assembly on Tuesday, the CAG asked the government to ensure that the laboratory at Pathanamthitta is adequately equipped so that it can be notified under the Food Safety and Standards Act.
The CAG noted that a District Food Testing Lab was established at Pathanamthitta in 1998 for testing Vazhipad articles and two labs at Pamba and sannidhanam for checking samples of raw materials and offerings at the temple.
The report noted that the food items were being tested only for some of the parameters specified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The Commissioner of Food Safety has not made any proposal for upgrading the lab at Pamba for testing all the required parameters.
Proper labelling
The CAG report also observed that the label on the Aravana prasadam container lacked full information on the ingredients and the expiry date. The label contains only the name, batch number, name and address of the manufacturer and the date of packing.
‘’All other details, especially ‘use by date’ as required under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations are not being included in the label,” the report noted.
However, the CAG also noted that the government (in December 2021) had brought the matter to the notice of the Devaswom Commissioner seeking compliance.
