Lucknow, May 14 (PTI) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday warned against food adulteration and the sale of fake medicines in the state, directing officials to publicly identify offenders.

Chairing a high-level review meeting of the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) department, Adityanath instructed officials to take a zero-tolerance stance against adulterators, fake medicine traders, and anyone involved in such illicit activities.

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"Food adulteration and the sale of fake medicines is a grave public health threat and a social crime that will not be tolerated," he told officials, further instructing them to display the offenders' photos at major intersections.

The chief minister called for the formation of special teams dedicated to conducting intensive and continuous checks on milk and dairy products.

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He was also briefed on the expansion of the state's food and drug laboratory network.

Beyond the existing six major divisions, new laboratories and offices have been established in Aligarh, Ayodhya, Azamgarh, Bareilly, Basti, Chitrakoot, Kanpur, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Prayagraj, Saharanpur, and Devi Patan divisions. Furthermore, laboratories in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Jhansi have been upgraded.

To enhance testing capabilities, three modern microbiology laboratories have been established in Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, enabling the detection of a wide range of micro-organisms and pathogens. Testing has already commenced in Lucknow and Meerut.

Adityanath further proposed setting up a corpus to ensure the smooth operation and maintenance of these vital laboratories.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)