FCI forms 8 teams to check rice quality
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has formed eight teams to inspect the quality of rice being sent from Punjab after complaints from states like Nagaland, Karnataka, and Arunachal Pradesh. The rice was reportedly found to have higher broken grains, excess moisture, insufficient fortified kernels, and pest infestations, with some rice deemed unfit for consumption. FCI teams will now randomly check samples from various Punjab locations and certify the rice before dispatch.
With complaints about “poor” quality of rice received from Punjab by the other rice consuming states trickling in, the Food Corporation of India has decided set up eight teams to randomly check the rakes of rice being dispatched from the state.
In the past month, three states have reported problems in the quality of rice dispatched from different parts of Punjab to Nagaland, Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh. The rice, when checked for quality specifications in these states, was reportedly found to have either higher than specified broken grains; higher moisture content; having less than specified fortified rice kernels; or having first level of pest infestation. The rice that was sent to Arunachal Pradesh and Karnataka was found to be “unfit for human consumption” when it was checked, before being used for public distribution.
The Punjab regional office of the FCI had maintained that the rice quality might have been affected during transportation and its handling, or while it was stored in other states. They have all along maintained that the quality of rice, before it was dispatched, fulfilled all parameters.
In an order issued by the food agency now, as many as eight teams, comprising three officers each, have been formed. The teams will check the quality of rice being sent from the FCI’s Punjab region.
The teams have been asked to take samples and check the quality of rice being dispatched from Budhlada, Kotkapura, Ferozepur, Kapurthala, Mullanpur (Ludhiana), Moga, Nabha and Sangrur. The teams will also certify the rice before it is dispatched.
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Source Link : The Tribune
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