Namakkal: Food safety officials seized 10 tonnes of sugar from 45 jaggery manufacturing units near Jedarpalayam here on Thursday.
More than 60 jaggery making units are operating in areas such as Pilikkalpalayam and Jedarpalayam near Paramathi Vellore in the district.
With the Pongal festival around the corner, production of ‘achu vellam' and ‘urundai vellam' is in full swing. Acting on a tip that some units were using sugar in jaggery production, food safety officers led by district food safety officer Dr Arun conducted a search operation on the day.
During the search, the team seized 10,900kg of sugar from 45 jaggery manufacturing units. They also collected samples of jaggery for lab tests. "If test results confirm adulteration, legal action will be taken against the erring units under the Food Safety Act. They will also be fined," the officer said.
Food safety officials have warned of strict action and heavy penalty against the jaggery unit owners adding sugar in jaggery.
