Members in the Lok Sabha today flagged concerns over reports that plastic eggs, rice and sugar are being sold in some parts of the country, to which the government said no specific case detected so far but states have been told to be alert.
The government said that the reports of plastic eggs had come to the notice of food safety regulator FSSAI. Also, the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) had alerted about plastic rice and sugar.
"Consequently, FSSAI has asked commissioners of food safety of all states/UTs to ensure that there is no production/distribution of fake/aritifical eggs," Junior Agriculture Minister Sudarshan Bhagat in the Lower House responding to the query raised by Malla Reddy (TRS).
The Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) has also urged the state food commissioners to take strict enforcement action, he said in a written reply.
"However, no specific instance of presence of fake eggs in any parts of the country has been received," he said, adding that the random sampling and testing of all types of food production is done by the FSSAI officials.
Reponding to a separate query raised by BJP member Shivkumar Udasi, Junior Consumer Affairs Minister C R Choudhary said in affirmative about videos on social networking platforms about plastic rice and sugar.
The matter was taken up with Kerala and Gujarat governments on the basis of INFOSAN alert. "The concerned state governments have confirmed that no incidence of plastic rice has been reported in the respective states."
No specific case of presence of plastic rice and sugar has been detected in the country. However, one can approach consumer fora for redressal in case of defective products and deficiency in service, the minister added.
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