Surat: Food safety officers from the food department discovered substandard samples of cocoa powder, milk powder, and corn flour in eight shops involved in selling, producing, and storing ice cream and cocoa here in he city.

According to the standards, cocoa powder should contain a minimum of 20 percent cocoa butter. However, food safety officers found that the samples of cocoa powders collected from five shops, namely Komal ice cream and juice center in Bestan, Srinath ice cream in Varachha, Sridev ice cream and falooda in Pal, Janta ice cream in AK road, and Mahadev ice cream in Magob, did not meet this requirement.

In addition, the proportion of milk protein in the samples of milk powder obtained from Savaliya ice cream on Varachha road and Shrinath ice cream in Hirabag, Varachha, was found to be below the standards. Similarly, the samples of corn flour taken from Gokulam in Athvalines, Surat, were also found to have a lower proportion of protein than the standards.

A complaint will be lodged against the shops with the adjudicating officer for their non-compliance. DeshGujarat