The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control is struggling to take banned Chinese milk products off market shelves, which, unsurprisingly, the department attributes to paucity of food inspectors and food testing kits. The government had on Thursday banned sale and import of Chinese chocolates, infant milk powder, biscuits, condensed milk and skimmed milk fearing that they might be laced with melamine, a toxic chemical.

This is a dangerous situation, especially in light of the fact that illegal Chinese products are routinely smuggled into the country through Khasa. There is no accurate data on either the quality or the quantity of milk products imported from China. What is hard to understand, nonetheless, is why ‘food inspectors’ are needed to take the banned products off the market. The job can be done by anyone who can pick out popular Chinese food products. (It is inconceivable that any urban adult would not be able to make out a White Rabbit, for instance). Ensuring health and safety of its citizens are among a government’s primary responsibilities. On no pretext can it justify any failure to take hazardous food products off the market. The current state of affairs may hint at another ‘Sofi’ waiting to happen.