HENNAI: The Chennai Corporation
may be seizing tonnes of rotting meat from railway stations, but the
food safety department has not cracked down on eateries and shops that
sell substandard food since June this year.
Food safety department officials said they were unable to take legal action against shops after the Madras high court in June stayed central regulations requiring small eateries and restaurants to conform to quality norms such as registration, employing a technical person, chemical analysis of food sample and ban on menu adaptation. However, the court has not stayed inspections by food safety department.
Corporation officials said raids on eateries were now the duty of the food safety department. A senior official in the food safety department said there were 31 writ petitions filed against the department by shop owners. This has dampened the department's efforts.
Records of the food safety department say that between August last year and June this year, only 457 samples of food products were tested. They found 41 samples to be adulterated or misbranded. The most adulterated food products were milk (25 samples), tea & coffee (seven) and drinking water (four). Officials said there were six laboratories across the state to check the quality of food products, but nothing much is done of late.
Meanwhile, shop owners said the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is too stringent. Under the act, a fine up to Rs 10 lakh can be imposed for a small violation, they said. R Srinivasan, secretary of Tamil Nadu Hotels Association, said: "It's difficult to meet the standards prescribed in the act, because most raw materials used to make food are contaminated."
The food safety department is also responsible for issuing licences to shops. The 2006 act makes it compulsory for eateries and hotels with a turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh to register with the department. The act stipulates that food traders with an annual turnover of up to Rs 12 lakh should pay a registration fee of Rs 100. Those with a turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh have to remit Rs 5,000. But only a few traders in the state have registered or got licence from the department. Data show that 13,153 licenses and
91,693 registrations were issued by the department. The number of licences include those for hotels (1,539), restaurants (1,048) and retail trade (3,440). Registrations have been given for 4,973 hotels, 995 restaurants and 42,594 retail traders.
Consumer activists said that the act should be implemented effectively. "It is the duty of the food safety officials to provide hygienic food to the public. There should be proper enforcement without corruption," said Consumers Association of India trustee R Desikan.
Food safety department officials said they were unable to take legal action against shops after the Madras high court in June stayed central regulations requiring small eateries and restaurants to conform to quality norms such as registration, employing a technical person, chemical analysis of food sample and ban on menu adaptation. However, the court has not stayed inspections by food safety department.
Corporation officials said raids on eateries were now the duty of the food safety department. A senior official in the food safety department said there were 31 writ petitions filed against the department by shop owners. This has dampened the department's efforts.
Records of the food safety department say that between August last year and June this year, only 457 samples of food products were tested. They found 41 samples to be adulterated or misbranded. The most adulterated food products were milk (25 samples), tea & coffee (seven) and drinking water (four). Officials said there were six laboratories across the state to check the quality of food products, but nothing much is done of late.
Meanwhile, shop owners said the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is too stringent. Under the act, a fine up to Rs 10 lakh can be imposed for a small violation, they said. R Srinivasan, secretary of Tamil Nadu Hotels Association, said: "It's difficult to meet the standards prescribed in the act, because most raw materials used to make food are contaminated."
The food safety department is also responsible for issuing licences to shops. The 2006 act makes it compulsory for eateries and hotels with a turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh to register with the department. The act stipulates that food traders with an annual turnover of up to Rs 12 lakh should pay a registration fee of Rs 100. Those with a turnover of more than Rs 12 lakh have to remit Rs 5,000. But only a few traders in the state have registered or got licence from the department. Data show that 13,153 licenses and
91,693 registrations were issued by the department. The number of licences include those for hotels (1,539), restaurants (1,048) and retail trade (3,440). Registrations have been given for 4,973 hotels, 995 restaurants and 42,594 retail traders.
Consumer activists said that the act should be implemented effectively. "It is the duty of the food safety officials to provide hygienic food to the public. There should be proper enforcement without corruption," said Consumers Association of India trustee R Desikan.
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