CITY HOTELS & RESTAURANTS FLOUTING FOOD SAFETY NORMS

Anyone who visits the local vegetable and food market late in the evenings or during the time of closure of the market, would see piles of unsold vegetables lying scattered on the ground. The volume of the piles vary from time to time – sometime it is a lot, sometimes it is less and at other times, rotten. But, they are always there.

When asked about the fate of those unsold vegetables, one of the vendors from Belotola area said, “Most of the times, we do not have to throw the unsold vegetables away because the hotel and restaurant staff buy it from us in bulk. We do not know the names and addresses of those hotels and restaurants. But, we heard them saying that they buy it for hotels and restaurants.”

Now, any modern, health conscious citizen would be shocked to hear such a piece of information. However, the concerned officials do not have any such knowledge nor do they keep records of such acts.

Although, the officials of the health and family welfare department, responsible for checking the quality norms of various food items confirm that various reputed and big hotel groups including restaurants in the city are serving sub-standard or unsafe food to their customers. 

“A Few years back, during our routine drive, we found out that various reputed hotels, even some of the three star rated ones located in the city were serving sub-standard food. We have served notices to those hotels and have ordered them to improve their food quality,” highly placed sources at the department of health and family welfare, on condition of anonymity told G Plus.

The source also mentioned that the concerned department had found sub-standard or low quality food sold by a reputed sweet shop in the city during one of its routine drives carried out before Durga Puja this year. “One case has been detected against a reputed sweet shop for selling sub-standard food in the city. Since the matter is subjudice now, I cannot mention the name of the sweet shop. But, we will definitely keep an eye on such defaulters,” the source stated.

In the last four years, more than 100 cases have been detected regarding the sale of sub-standard or unsafe food in the city. Till date, starting from January this year, the Health and Family Welfare Department, Kamrup (M) has detected thirty cases under Food safety and standards act, 2006 for selling sub-standard and unsafe foods.

“We have also detected unhygienic maintenance in various hotels located at Paltan Bazar including “Maa Kali”. Besides, brands like ‘Annapurna’ are found to be selling sub-standard food and we have already filed cases against all of them,” the source mentioned.

Moreover, the concerned department has so far filed cases against packaged drinking water units, milk and milk products, fruits and vegetables ripened with the help of carbide and other food items including edible oil, jam, jelly, mango juice for ‘misbranding’ or low quality.

“This year, we have imposed fine of Rs 70,000 on four mustard oil farms – BR oil industries (Dophool brand), Sreenathji edible oil product (Tractor brand), Baibhav oil mills (Jayka brand) and Sree Saurav agro tech private limited for selling low quality food items. All these farms are from Maurana distrct and they have stopped sending their products into the state,” the sources said.

The department, which also checks the quality of all kinds of liquors, is now planning to give directives to the meat sellers in the city regarding food safety.

Besides, since 2013, the Health and Family Welfare Department, Kamrup (M) has completed registration of 240 food business establishments and registered licensing of 1240 food business establishments.

Meanwhile, right after the department of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) found unsafe food samples in some KFC outlets located in Delhi, the Food safety officials here too had carried out raids in the KFC outlets situated in the city.

The food samples taken during the raid carried out last Saturday have been sent for the necessary test, the result of which would be out in the next week. “During our raid on the KFC outlets, located in the city, we have found that the maintenance of the restaurant is good. Also, the handling of the food products is hygienic. But, the quality of food can be determined only after the testing of samples, which we have already sent to the laboratory. 

At present, we have carried out food safety drives at around 20 restaurants located at Paltan Bazaar, out of which food samples at three restaurants (Victoria hotel, Saakshi and Jadab dairy) have been sent for testing. Most of the restaurants located in that area are found to be unhygienic,” one of the officials, Health and Family Welfare Department, Kamrup (M) who was a part of the raid said.