The Mumbai civic body has directed the officials of its health department to launch a special drive to check the quality of sweets and 'mawa' (solidified milk) used for making them to ensure that no incidents of food poisoning occur due to adulteration in these items.

The 10-day Ganesh festival, starting on September 19, kickstarts the festive season in the country as it is followed by Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali and Christmas celebrations.

In a release issued on Thursday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that ahead of the festive season, directions have been given to the officials to launch a special drive from September 1 to December 31.

Under this drive, health officers and sanitary inspectors have been asked to check the quality of sweets and 'mawa' by visiting sweet shops and cold storages, it said.

The civic body also asked the establishments selling sweets and milk-based products to take special care during the festival season to avoid any incidents of food poisoning.

It also urged people not to consume sweets if the colour or smell of these items change, and also asked them to report about it to the BMC in such cases.

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