Mysore/Mysuru: Over six tonnes of adulterated ghee has been seized from the godown in Hosahundi near Bandipalya in the raid on the manufacturing unit. Both the Police and Food and Civil Supplies Department are carrying out separate investigations into how the racket flourished and how far it is spread.

 In addition to six tonnes of adulterated ghee, 3 to 4 tonnes of original ghee has also been recovered from the godown. Shaken up by the magnitude of adulteration, the Mysuru District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Societies’ Union Limited (MyMUL) has decided to set up vigilance squads to detect the adulterated dairy products misusing Nandini brand name.

 Speaking to reporters in the city on Friday, MyMUL President P.M. Prasanna said that the vigilance teams would comprise chemists and other food experts. “These squads will visit all the agencies, shops, outlets and supermarkets every week to check the purity and genuineness of the products they are selling under the brand name,” he said.

 The squads will check all products at outlets that come under MyMUL jurisdiction and the products will be checked in the laboratories for adulteration. “We have met Superintendent of Police R. Chethan and we have requested the officer to bring the criminals to book. The Food and Civil Supplies Department is carrying out a separate investigation,” he said.

Meanwhile, KMF Managing Director and CEO B.C. Satheesh said in Bengaluru that short and long-term measures will be implemented to protect the Nandini brand.

 “First, we want to assure that Nandini products are safe and these incidents are only aberrations. Even then, we will take up measures. For the next six months, a team from each union will visit shops as regular customers and buy 5 to 10 packets of ghee from shops, which will be tested in the lab. We aim to check all the 21,000 sale points,” he said.

 An FIR has been registered at the Mysuru South Police Station against four persons and teams have been formed to arrest the adulterators, he added. The Police investigation will help bring out not only all the culprits involved in the crime, but also its marketing network, he added.

 “We are seriously concerned about the illegal ghee manufacturing plant in the name of Nandini brand. We are ready to take action if any MyMUL employees are involved in this. We will definitely dismiss them,” Prasanna said. Mysuru’s designated officer for Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) would be sending the samples of the seized material to laboratories for testing, he added.

 Prasanna said that the demand for the QR-code based authentication system has already been made. Satheesh said discussions have been held at the highest levels on introducing QR codes or holograms. “We will introduce one of them based on the decision by the (KMF) Chairman. Trial runs will be conducted soon to understand the best option, he added.