Preparing Deepavali sweets, savouries in Coimbatore

With just three days left for Deepavali, the production of sweets and savouries has picked up pace at more than 30 marriage halls across the district to meet the growing festive demand.

As the festival approaches, demand for traditional sweets and savouries has increased, with people purchasing them in large quantities from shops in commercial areas. Popular sweet shops in the city have been witnessing heavy crowds.

Those who have subscribed to Deepavali sweet and savoury packages have also set up temporary sheds at various locations and engaged cooking workers to prepare the items in large quantities, running into several tonnes.

Sweet shops offering special festive discounts have rented marriage halls and converted them into production centres, where sweets and savouries are being prepared round the clock.

In view of the large-scale production, the District Collector had already issued a circular outlining food safety guidelines. All food business operators involved in the preparation of sweets and savouries must possess a valid licence or registration certificate under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The guidelines also stipulate that temporary production units set up in marriage halls and houses, including those preparing food items on orders, must obtain permission from the Food Safety Department. Strict action would be taken under the Act against those violating the regulations.

The guidelines were distributed as pamphlets to food manufacturers and traders.

Meanwhile, Food Safety Department officials in Coimbatore district have intensified inspections of marriage halls and other premises engaged in the preparation of Deepavali specialities.

A team of officials led by District Designated Food Safety Officer Dr. Anuradha has been conducting field inspections at food production units and marriage halls over the past four days.