Health officers in Kerala’s Ernakulam district conducted raids recently to curb food violations in the district and the sale of banned tobacco items in the city. During the raids, six persons found selling tobacco products illegally were arrested. Three restaurants were forced to down their shutters, notices were sent to over 200 hotels for not maintaining basic hygiene, and fines were imposed on establishments that were found violating rules.
The raids were conducted under the guidance of and as per orders issued by the district collector. Cases of food adulteration have increased in the city. Kerala imposed a blanket ban on chewing tobacco products in 2012, but the consumption of such products continues in many parts of the state, including the city limits. In a recent study by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, it was found that 74 per cent of children aged between five and 18 use tobacco-related products in Kerala.
The raid was aimed at curbing the availability of tobacco in the vicinities of schools and colleges, where the new academic year has commenced. An advocate from Thrissur recently filed a petition in the High Court to install mobile food laboratories to ensure that food items available in the state are of a high quality. As food safety concerns are growing in the state, proper food testing arrangements are insufficient to tackle such problems. The petition also asked for the appointment of a sufficient number of food inspectors and that visible kitchen be made mandatory for licences.
An officer of the district health department, said, “The health department of the district is taking all possible actions to ensure food safety by educating and correcting food business operators (FBO) in the city. The recent raids were successful in punishing the violators and warning others. Strict checking is underway to curb the availability of tobacco-related products in the city. Some hotels are asked to shut down, while notices were issued to others.”
No comments:
Post a Comment