Nighttime Raid Sees 97 Trucks Inspected, Many Holding Spoiled Dairy

Lucknow, Aug 26 – As the nation prepared for Raksha Bandhan, Uttar Pradesh’s Food Safety and Drug Administration rolled out a coordinated night‑time operation across the state’s highways. From midnight on August 25 until the early hours of the 26th, teams inspected toll‑booths, expressways and feeder roads for vehicles transporting food under unsafe conditions.

Out of 97 trucks halted, 28 were discovered with doubtful or mixed‑quality food items. Authorities seized 35 samples for lab analysis and destroyed about 16.3 quintals of contaminated products, an approximate market value of ₹20 lakh.

The crackdown highlighted several high‑profile finds: a Delhi‑Mathura carrier with 1.2 tonnes of paneer, which was destroyed on the spot as it failed quality checks; two Meerut‑Delhi trucks moving roughly 10 quintals of khoya in unhygienic storage, resulting in a loss of ₹3.3 lakh; and a snack‑laden lorry on the Ayodhya‑Gorakhpur stretch carrying 3.4 tonnes of namkeen, valued at about ₹32 thousand.

In addition, a milk tanker on the Noida‑Delhi corridor was stopped with 7,000 litres of milk suspected of adulteration, and a vehicle in the Baghpat‑Delhi sector was found with 520 kg of khoya in poor condition. All seized items were destroyed under departmental supervision.

The agency’s statement emphasized that safety checks are not limited to market stalls but extend throughout the logistics network, especially for festive staples such as sweets, dairy and savoury snacks. Continued monitoring and strict penalties are promised for any breaches of food‑safety standards.