SURAT: Following laboratory tests by the food department of the Surat Municipal Corporation, eight establishments, including the famed Gokulam Dairy and Janta Ice Cream, have failed to meet food quality standards. The tests have highlighted the substandard nature of cocoa powder and milk powder used in these businesses, leading to the destruction of about 15 kg of the said products.

In a city-wide effort, the Surat Municipal Corporation's food department team collected samples of cocoa powder and milk powder from various outlets. Following the laboratory analysis, they identified faults in the cocoa powder samples procured from eight establishments.

Notably, the samples from Gokulam Dairy at Athwalines showed lower-than-required protein and food fat content. The protein content in the maize flour was only 8.0 per cent, and the food fat content was just 3.1 per cent, both values falling short of the prescribed standards.

A similar issue was identified with the milk powder sample from Shreenath Ice Cream, located in Heerabagh Varachha, which failed the lab test. The milk powder from Sawaliya Ice Cream on Varachha Road was found to contain less than the minimum required 34.0 per cent milk protein.

Moreover, cocoa powder samples from Janta Ice Cream in Red Par, Sridev Ice Cream in Pal Kshetra, Shreenath Ice Cream in Varachha, and Komal Ice Cream and Juice Center in Bhestan contained less than the minimum required 20.0 per cent of cocoa butter. In light of these findings, the municipal corporation is set to lodge a complaint against these establishments before the Adjudicating Officer.