Chandigarh/Mohali, Oct. 14 -- Ahead of the festive season, food safety inspections have been intensified in the tricity, with nine challans being issued against food business operators in Chandigarh and five in Mohali for non-compliance with provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act.

In Chandigarh, officials collected 51 food samples, including 26 regulatory and 25 surveillance samples of food items such as paneer and khoya, which have been sent to the food analyst laboratory for testing.

In Mohali, teams conducted extensive inspection drives in Kurali, New Chandigarh, Kharar, Nayagaon, Jagatpura, Dhakoli, Baltana, VIP Road, Dera Bassi, and Lalru between September 15 and October 12, and collected 142 samples. Of the total, 93 were...