PUNE: Officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued 'stop activity' notices to two flour mills in Bhosari and Hadapsar industrial belts on November 17 after glaring lapses were noticed in initiating quality control measures at these units.Both the mills are involved in supplying huge quantity of gram flour (besan) and peas dal flour (watana) to not only wholesalers and distributors in Pune but also in adjoining areas."Both the mill operators were found to be at fault for not following the standard operating procedures (SOPs). They were not carrying out mandatory quality tests before supplying their flour products to the market, which is a grave mistake,” Suresh Deshmulkh, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune division, told TOI.Besides, supervisors or mangers deployed at these mills were not qualified to carry out technical jobs. “Supervisors at both the mills were completely unaware of technical aspects of production and the measures they need to take to ensure the flour is safe for human consumption," Deshmukh said.“A supervisor involved in flour mill industry needs to have a science degree (BSc) in chemistry. However, the supervisors at these mills were not aware of good manufacturing practices and standard operating procedures,” Deshmukh said.It is mandatory to draw samples of flour from every batch produced and test it on quality parameters but both the mill operators were not carrying out the mandatory tests before supplying the flour in the market, he said."Both the mill owners don't sell the flour under any brand name. They sell it to wholesalers and distributors in 10kg, 15kg and 50kg packages. They have been involved in the milling industry for more than 10 years," Deshmukh said.The officials also drew samples of flour products and sent them to designated laboratory for testing. "The reports are awaited. We will initiate further action based on our inspection and sample test reports," he said.“The fact that these mills were operating and supplying flour without carrying out mandatory tests for last several years shows that FDA officials were not carrying out periodic inspections. How such a glaring mistake could not be identified earlier?, ” asked health activist Sanjay Dabhade

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