Lucknow, May 14; Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed food adulteration and fake drug business as a ‘social crime’ and said that this is a serious issue related to public health. Any kind of compromise on this will be unforgivable.
He directed the officials that strict and decisive action should be taken against adulterators, fake drug business network and people involved in this crime under the ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy of the state government.
Chief Minister said that such people should be publicly identified and their photos should be put up at major intersections.
The Chief Minister directed in a high-level review meeting of the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) department today that daily consumption items like oil, ghee, spices, milk, cheese should be tested at the manufacturing unit as far as possible. Concerned teams should be formed for especially intensive testing of milk and milk products which should monitor continuously. Along with this, effective control should also be established by identifying professional blood donors.
He clarified that the health of the common man is the top priority of the state government and this responsibility should be discharged with complete transparency and commitment.
Chief Minister was told that the network of food and drug laboratories in the state has expanded rapidly. Apart from the six major divisions functioning earlier, new laboratories and offices have now been established in Aligarh, Ayodhya, Azamgarh, Bareilly, Basti, Chitrakoot, Kanpur, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Prayagraj, Saharanpur and Devipatan divisions. Laboratory buildings have been upgraded in Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Jhansi. Along with this, three modern microbiology laboratories have also been established in Lucknow, Meerut and Varanasi, in which testing of microorganisms, protozoa, viruses, bacteria, mycotoxins and other disease-causing organisms has become possible. Testing has also started in Lucknow and Meerut.
Chief Minister suggested setting up a ‘corpus fund’ for the operation and maintenance of these laboratories.
For effective control over the business of counterfeit medicines, the Chief Minister directed that departmental coordination with the police should be further improved so that the quality and effectiveness of enforcement actions can be ensured. The actions being taken to ensure the quality of medicines were also reviewed in the meeting.
With the aim of making the process of food safety transparent and accountable, a password-protected barcode system has been implemented by the FSDA. This ensures confidentiality and impartiality of the analysis of samples. Each sample is tested by scientists through digital means and the analysis is considered valid only after the approval of higher officials.
To ensure the participation of common citizens, the department has provided a mobile app called ‘Food Safety Connect’ and toll free number 1800-180-5533.
Chief Minister directed that the disposal of any complaint should be considered valid only when the complainant is satisfied.
There has also been significant progress regarding investment and employment generation in the field of medical equipment and drug manufacturing.
Chief Minister was informed that investment proposals worth Rs 1,470 crore have been approved in the last three years. This has provided direct employment to more than 3,340 people. An unprecedented increase has been registered in the number of drug manufacturing units, medical device manufacturing, blood banks and retail drug sellers. More than 65 thousand new jobs have been created in retail drug establishments alone in the last three years.
Chief Minister directed that the organizational capacity of FSDA should be strengthened and for this the recruitment process for the vacant posts should be started soon.
