Hotel and restaurant owners in Patna are having a tough time as the health department of the state along the food safety officer is on a chase to get hold of restaurants not abiding by the rules of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Act, 2006.
Hotel Maurya, one of the well know hotel of Patna, became the first target of the authorities on January 13. High profile meetings, parties and conferences are a daily thing for the hotel but when food safety officer Mukeshjee Kashyap and his team entered the kitchen of the hotel, the sight was unpleasant. They found all the vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods kept together, even in the freezer. Iodine salt was left uncovered near the fire leading to evaporation of iodine from the salt.
On January14, they raided Hotel Samrat and found it running without a license. The hotel was not approved under section 31 of FSSAI Act, 2006 which is mandatory for all the restaurants and hotels.
The food safety officer’s latest target was a restaurant named Mamta operating on the second floor of Patna Airport. Kashyap and his team investigated the restaurant on January 21 after receiving a couple of complaints about it.
The restaurant did not have the mandatory FSSAI license and its kitchen was in an unhygienic state. The restaurant has been banned from selling foods or drinks till it gets an approved license.
“We have asked the owners of the hotels and restaurants to abide by the rules, maintain cleanliness in the kitchen and keep vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods separately,” said Kashyap.
“The best part of starting with big hotels and restaurants is that small restaurant and hotel owners get alert and start maintaining hygiene and quality,” he added.
Kashyap also said that if people see any hotel or restaurant not maintaining hygiene and quality as per the FSSAI Act, 2006 , they can complain to the health department, food safety officer, civil surgeon’s office or call the health department’s helpline and register their complain.
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