No compromise on food quality at Games

The State Food Safety Commissioner has issued directives on the additional precautions to be taken by the Food Safety Department during the conduct of the National Games in Kerala from January 31 to February 15.

The central kitchen in Menamkulam Games Village and catering services and other Games venues where food will be served will be under strict surveillance of the Food Safety wing. Round-the-clock inspection squads under district Assistant Food Safety Officers would be formed for ensuring the safety and quality of the food served, T.V. Anupama, Commissioner of Food Safety, said.

The squads would take samples of the raw materials used for cooking and the food prepared at the Games village’s central kitchen for testing at labs. The results would be given to the Games Village office. The quality of drinking water and water used for cooking would also be checked by Food Safety officials.

Assistant Food Safety Commissioners in Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Kannur districts had been asked to form 24-hour inspection squads and to function as per the directives of the respective District Collectors or the Games organising committees in the districts.

The toll-free number of the Food Safety Commissioner and that of the respective district Assistant Food Safety Commissioners would be displayed prominently in both Hindi and in English at the Games Village and other event venues.

Three labs, including the microbiology labs under the Food Safety Commissioner, would function round-the-clock from January 28 to February 15, Ms. Anupama said. Any adverse lab report indicating substandard quality of food or raw materials should be reported immediately to the temporary food safety control room set up in the Village.

The control room would be under the Joint Food Safety Commissioner, who is also the convener of the National Games Food Committee.

Notices regarding the importance of maintaining food safety, and the regulations in place, would be distributed to all food business operators (FBOs) around the Games venues in the district. No FBOs without mandatory FSSAI registration or licence would be allowed to operate, the Food Safety Commissioner said.

24-hour inspection squads to ensure that food and water are safe.