Testing and tasting, the way ahead for food safety

Kochi:

Hotels, Malls, Bakers Sign Up With Labs For Quality Checks

Believe it or not, food safety and hygiene are the prime concern of star hotels, popular malls and bakeries.Thanks to a series of raids by the food safety department last year, they are regularly sending samples of water, food and packaged snacks to private labs to ensure quality .

Earlier, labs only used to get weekly and monthly samples of drinking water and the one used in bathrooms. Over the past 12 months, many hotels have signed up with labs to continuously test samples.

“We get all kinds of food including burgers, doughnuts, chips, murukku, appams and several other locally-made products that are sold fresh. Most of the food is locally outsourced and hence the hotels and malls don't want to take a chance,“ said a quality assurance manager at a private lab.

“Public awareness on hygiene and health has increased. Different associations have lined up initiatives to publicize the standards of different food items. Some stopped artificial colours and flavours, but it hasn't gone down well with the people,“ said assistant commissioner of food safety intelligence (central region) Beena V K, adding that Food Safety Standards of India (FSSAI) has made it mandatory for companies to provide nutritional facts for packaged foods.

Quality Control analyst Shivadas B Menon termed it a good trend. “Microbiological tests will reveal the level of hygiene in kitchen staff. Since many hotels are manned by migrants, it is important to iron out basic hand wash techniques,“ he said, adding that the government should choose a PPP model to ensure cleanliness.

District food safety officer K Ajith Kumar said that officials are looking at food adulteration and the practice of reusing old oils that may prove toxic for some consumers.“We are yet to conduct any fresh raids this year because of National Games,“ he said.Junior health inspector M M Sakkeer, who is a part of the team that conducts raids, said: “We do not permit toilets in the kitchen. We look at the quality of chicken and meat and its quality .“

The president of Kerala Bakers Association admitted that most bakers have chosen the outsourcing route. “The `vada' and `ada' are made at home and we draw a line to ensure quality . Bakers are being trained on what should not be added in food,“ he said.

After being on the receiving end of raids and bad publicity, Kerala Hotels and Restaurants Association (KHRA) has activated its health monitoring forum that organizes talks by food safety officials. “We do check that the lessons taught are being implemented by our members. We point out flaws in sanitation, food preparation and preservation,“ said district president M P Shiju.

Even star hotels are collecting kitchen staff swabs for tests to prevent the spread of infection. Taj Gateway executive chef Jaffer Ali said surprise checks are part of internal audit. “Twice a month, we collect hand and utensil swabs to check microbial presence. Most of the checks are random and all reports go directly to the top management as it is mandatory under ISO certification,“ he said.