Frozen foods company Safal receives complaints on quality

Several complaints have been received about poor quality of fruits and vegetables sold at Mother Dairy-owned Safal booths in the national capital, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar informed Parliament today.

Pawar replied in affirmative when asked whether complaints from consumers are being received in complaint books kept at Safal vegetable boots in Delhi in respect of poor quality of vegetables, fruits and frozen items.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, the Minister placed details of 30 public complaints lodged by consumers at various Safal booths between January, 2012 and February, 2013.

On action taken on these complaints, Pawar said: "No specific reply has been sent to each of the complainant although appropriate action has been taken by the Mother Dairy Fruits and Vegetables Ltd for redressal of the complaint."

To ensure quality service to consumers, the Minister said the Safal booths in the national capital are regularly inspected to check the quality of products.

Besides that, the concessionaires operating the booths are advised and educated to keep quality products for sale.

The Minister said money was returned in some cases, while replacement of products was given to some consumers after taking note of complaints lodged.

Complaints were lodged at Safal booths located at Kalkaji Extension, Saraswati Vihar, Patpar Ganj, R K Puram, Saket, Khanpur, Mayur Vihar, Munirka, Vasant Vihar, Malviya Nagar, Jangpura Extension, Dwarka, Vasant Kunj among other areas in the national capital.

Safal is owned by Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable. It has over 350 outlets in Delhi with an annual capacity to handle and process 2,00,000 tonnes of fresh fruits and vegetables.