Citizen complaints triggered nearly two-thirds of food safety inspections across Gurugram in September, with social media and government grievance portals emerging as a key sources of leads for enforcement teams.

Citizen complaints triggered 61% of Gurugram food safety inspections in Sept

According to data shared by the district food safety department, enforcement teams carried out at least 31 targeted inspections across the city’s two primary zones last month. Of these,19 were linked to complaints received through digital and government grievance channels, officials said.

Eleven complaints were received through social media, while eight were registered through the Prime Minister’s and Chief Minister’s grievance portals. Together these accounted for 61.31% of the inspections carried out during the month.

The remaining inspections were regular raids conducted by the department in schools, eateries and grocery warehouses.

Officials said the complaints ranged from concerns about the quality and safety of food being sold to suspected violations at food establishments. Teams inspected the establishments and collected samples wherever required.

Dr Deepak, food safety officer, Gurugram-II,said, “The department is very vigilant about any food safety violations and strict action will be taken against the violators.”

Officials said several inspections resulted in samples being collected from establishments across the city and action will be decided after the test results are received.

Most of the samples collected were enforcement samples. Food safety authorities generally collect two types of samples during inspections --- enforcement samples and surveillance samples.

An enforcement sample is collected when there is a suspected violation and can form the basis for legal action, while a surveillance sample is collected mainly to monitor food safety and identify potential risks without necessarily initiating enforcement proceedings.

Officials said complaints help the department with specific locations and establishments for verification.Teams then conduct inspections to determine whether food safety norms have been violated.