13 eateries ordered shut

The Food Safety officials on Friday closed down 13 eateries in the city for selling unsafe food.

Under Operation Ruchi, the officials conducted inspections at various restaurants, tea stalls, fruit stalls, juice centres and roadside eateries and found some of them selling food in unhygienic conditions.

Senior Food Safety Officer Abdul Majeed along with food inspectors Zakir Hussain and Jose Lawrence inspected four hotels and four juice centres at Marine Drive, all of which were asked to down shutters for using banned colouring agents and adulterants in the food. Street food vendors selling north Indian specialities were found to prepare their food in unhygienic conditions. None of them had licences either. All the eateries have been given notices to improve their sanitary conditions.

The Food Safety Officer said tea stalls were found to use adulterated tea leaves.