Ahmedabad, Oct 12 — The Gujarat government has sealed four warehouses in Mehsana district after surprise inspections uncovered more than 1.58 lakh bags of suspected adulterated cottonseed cake, including a stock valued at Rs 25 crore at a warehouse in Linch, the state government said on Monday.
The inspections were conducted on October 11 in the Kadi area on the instructions of Animal Husbandry Minister Jitu Vaghani, following a specific complaint about possible adulteration in animal feed.
Samples of the suspected material have been sent to laboratories for testing, while officials are verifying the physical stock against warehouse records.
According to the preliminary investigation, approximately 63.41 lakh kg of stock at the Linch warehouse, estimated to be worth Rs 25 crore, was found to be expired and suspected to be adulterated.
The findings remain subject to further verification and laboratory analysis. The inspections covered four warehouses associated with the NCDEX group.
At Bhavya Warehouse in Aldesan, officials found 14,125 bags, while Shubham Logistics Warehouse in the same village had 5,090 bags.
Mahashakti Warehouse, also known as Amina Warehouse, in Nagrasan had 10,796 bags, and LTC Warehouse on the Linch-Ambasan Road had approximately 1,28,622 bags.
The combined stock of more than 1,58,500 bags was sealed late on Sunday night for counting and verification.
Joint teams from the Mehsana District Animal Husbandry Department, the Food and Drugs Control Administration, the Kadi Mamlatdar's office and veterinary services carried out the inspections under the supervision of the Mehsana Collector.
Officials collected separate samples of the suspected cottonseed cake using scientific methods and sent them to laboratories for urgent analysis.
On October 12, teams are also verifying the physical stock at the warehouses against the closing balances recorded in the stock registers.
The action comes after Gujarat enacted a new law to ensure the quality and safety of animal feed. The legislation has received the Governor's assent, and its implementation is expected to begin shortly, according to the government.
Vaghani had warned against adulteration in animal feed and cottonseed cake while addressing the annual general meeting of the Gujarat Cotton Seeds Crushers Association.
He said the government would not tolerate practices that endangered animal health or harmed livestock farmers.
“The priority of the government is to ensure that livestock farmers in the state receive pure, safe and quality feed for their animals,” Vaghani said.
He added that those violating the prescribed standards of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), or selling adulterated and unfit feed, could face legal penalties, cancellation of licences and imprisonment under the new law.
Further action is expected to depend on the findings of the laboratory tests and the verification of stock records.