With samples of food and milk products in the state recently failing the laboratory tests, the Health Safety and Regulation Directorate of the state has issued an advisory to consumers to avoid buying non-branded food products. Director Health Safety and Regulation Rakesh Kanwar said people should avoid products which have high chances of being adulterated, especially milk products, during the festival season.

In the last one month, 30 per cent of over 200 food samples across the state collected by the food inspectors were found to be adulterated, said Kanwar.

Usually, harmful chemicals are used to increase the quantity of the products, making them unfit for human consumption, said an expert.

In the tests conducted so far, the most common adulterations found were urea and harmful colours, said government health officials. The health department is yet to compile a monthly report of the type of adulterations found during this time and their effects on the health of a person.

Many consignments of ghee, paneer and milk were seized in Mandi, Kullu and Una districts in the last couple of months and found unfit for consumption.

On Wednesday, 3,500 kilograms of khoya, suspected to be spurious, was seized in Shimla.

DIG (CID) N Venugopal said the reports of the samples sent for testing were still awaited. The state is still grappling with the problem of shortage of staff with just 12 food inspectors for a population of over 65 lakh.

“We are in the process of restructuring the system where regular checking of cases of adulteration could be done. The testing laboratory is also overburdened and there are over 300 samples are still to be tested,” said Kanwar.