Unhygienic Hotels a Ticking 'Health Bomb'

KOCHI:The state government’s decision to shut down 418 bars for not maintaining the stipulated standards may have won applause from different quarters, but questions arise as to how many hotels, restaurants and eateries have been closed for not adhering to the food safety norms? Though the Food and Safety Wing of the civic bodies all over the state have been carrying out raids and inspections, none of the eateries and hotels that have been booked for serving stale food and having unhygienic premises were shut down permanently.

It is very disturbing to note that the authorities wake up from their slumber only when a tragedy strikes. Raids are carried out only when an incident of food poisoning happens or complaints are registered.

Citizens are left wondering as to why the law imposed by the government on the bars is not applicable to the eateries and restaurants as well. The situation is very disturbing because these hotels and restaurants which are booked for violating the food safety norms easily escape from the repercussions by paying a meager amount of fine.

“If the government can undertake strict actions against bars, why is it so lax against eateries. After all, bars are not a place where everyone frequents unlike restaurants. If the government can readily close down the bars they should also take responsibility to close down the hotels and restaurants which are not keeping the premises clean and hygienic,” says Radhakrishnan, a retired government employee at Fort Kochi.

According to Ajith Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Food and Safety, the shortage of staff is affecting the functioning of the department. “Our primary task is to inspect the quality of food being served in eateries. In the district, there is acute shortage of staff and resources. But, we try to conduct regular checks with available resources.

An amount of over Rs 9 lakh was levied as compound fee from eateries that had failed to maintain the stipulations,” said the official.

When contacted, the District Medical Officer Dr Beena said that the inspections are a combined effort of the Food and Safety Department, the Health Department and Local Self Government bodies.

“Our role in raids are limited to inspecting the sanitary facilities at restaurants. We have absolutely no role in taking actions. It is the responsibility of the civic bodies and Food and Safety Department to take action against erring eateries. Unless the Food Safety Act is amended wherein we are given more responsibility, there is little we can do in this regard,” said the DMO.

Even seasoned foodies will think twice before eating anything if they see the place where the food that they so relish is prepared. In most of the hotels the kitchens are located very close to the latrines.

Just a look at the filthy floors, dirty dish-washing area and toilet facilities is enough to flip the guts of any sane person.

Though the hotel owners have been provided with a list of 30 parameters, that too written in Malayalam, to be followed in their establishments they hardly bother to follow them. These parameters just remain on the yellowing paper stuffed in some remote recess of their drawers.

The authorities wait for an incident to happen to take action. When the shawarma issue shook the state, the authorities took a belated action to close down the unhygienic shawarma centres.

However, these centres have reopened and the conditions in which they are being operated are nothing different from what it had been earlier. The official drives have miserably failed.

Earlier the Ernakulam District Administration had put forth a plan to grade the hotels based on the infrastructure facilities available. But that got dropped after the hotel and restaurant association strongly protested against it.

“Grading of hotels is just an eye wash. The street vendors are the once who prepare their fare in unhygienic condition. They are the ones who need to be made aware. Business is their sole purpose as they pay thousands to the officials to get their space. To ensure hygiene we have already formed a committee across the state. The committee will monitor the sale of food and hygiene conditions,” said Jose Mohan, state president Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association.

'Grading System Nipped in the Bud'

KOCHI:Following the increase in number of complaints against hotels supplying unhygienic food, the Kochi Corporation Health department, in 2012 had come up with a plan to launch a grading system for the hotels and restaurants in the city. However, the plan did not materialise.

As per the plan, a grading system was to be launched to ensure the supply of quality food in a hygienic environment by the restaurants in Kochi. The Corporation got the idea of grading system from foreign cities like Dubai, where hotels are graded based on the food safety standards.

“The plan was to rate restaurants and categories them into Grades A, B, and C. The criteria for grading included quality of food served, hygiene condition of the kitchen and premises, purity of drinking water, purity of water used for cooking and efficiency in customer service,” said Kochi Corporation health Standing committee chairman T K Ashraf.

He said that the initial rounds of discussions in this regard were held with the office bearers of Hotels and Restaurant’s Association.

“As per our proposal, the hotel and restaurant operators can apply for the grade with the Corporation. As per their request, the Heath Department officials will inspect the hotel and its premises. If the hotels meet the criteria stipulated for a particular grade, they will be rewarded accordingly. For instance, if a particular hotel meets the requirements for A grade, it will be given that particular grade. Graded institutions will be given a certificate which they should display at the hotel,” he added. The civic body also announced that the best hotels will be encouraged by other awards annually.

“But the plan did not materialise. The hotel and restaurant owners did not show any interest citing their own reasons. Hence, we were forced to drop the idea,” he added.

However, Ashraf said that after the Food Safety Act, the Food Safety Department has been vested with more power to take actions against unhygienic hotels.

“Hence, the corporation has decided to join hands with the Food Safety Department to take stringent action against the hotels if they supply stale food or serve food in unhygienic conditions,” he added.

Eating out Not Safe

KOCHI:Eating out has always been a fun thing amongst both the young and the old. But have you spared a thought about the quality of food that you are being served at these eateries. The district administration carries out raids at intervals to dock the hotels and eateries that do not confer to the prescribed guidelines.

According to the details procured from the office of the Commissioner of Food Safety, the raids and follow up actions have resulted in improving the cleanliness and hygiene of 74 per cent of the hotels, but only 25 to 30 eateries have been found to comply with the guidelines issued on adulteration. “Our squad has been raiding hotels across the state once in every two months. The recent raid was carried out in April. A review meeting was also held last month. The incessant effort has led to an improvement in the cleanliness and hygiene of hotels. But 25 to 50 per cent of them still don’t bother to adhere to the guidelines,” said a source in the office of Commissioner of Food Safety.

Food Safety Commissioner T V Anupama said that strict action will be take against the eateries which are not paying heed to the repeated warnings and notices.

“We slap fines ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh on erring eateries. Criminal cases have also been registered against some hotels,” she said. Health Standing Committee chairman of Kochi Corporation T K Ashraf said that the civic body will take action against the hotels that make a compromise on the quality of food, cleanliness and hygiene. “We have already slapped closure notice on a few hotels. There will be regular follow up action. Frequent examinations will be carried out in all areas,” he said

DINAMALAR NEWS

Report on quality of processed foods released

PUNE: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the ministry of health and family welfare has issued regulations including the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 and the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011 which prescribe the quality and safety standards for food products. 

FSSAI has informed that there are 166 food testing laboratories under its purview for testing food products as per standards prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and rules and regulations. Out of these 166 laboratories, 72 laboratories are state/ public food laboratories functioning under the state / union territory government; 12 laboratories are referral laboratories notified by FSSAI for the purpose of referral testing under FSS Act, 2006 / rules and regulations, 2011; 82 laboratories are NABL accredited private laboratories notified by FSSAI. 

Further, FSSAI has also informed that penalty for possessing adulterant has been prescribed in Section 57 of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006. Regular surveillance, monitoring and sampling of food products is being undertaken by states under FSS Act, 2006. In cases where samples are found to be not conforming to the provisions of the act and rules and regulations made thereunder, penal action is initiated against the offender.

Quality of Processed Foods

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued regulations including the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 and the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011 which prescribe the quality and safety standards for food products. FSSAI has informed that there are 166 Food Testing Laboratories under its purview for testing food products as per standards prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Rules / Regulations, 2011. Out of these 166 laboratories, 72 laboratories are State/ Public Food laboratories functioning under the State / Union Territory Government; 12 laboratories are Referral Laboratories notified by FSSAI for the purpose of referral testing under FSS Act, 2006 / Rules & Regulations, 2011; 82 laboratories are NABL accredited private laboratories notified by FSSAI. 

Further, FSSAI has also informed that penalty for possessing adulterant has been prescribed in Section 57 of the Food Safety & Standards (FSS) Act, 2006. Regular surveillance, monitoring & sampling of food products is being undertaken by State / UT Governments under FSS Act, 2006. In cases where samples are found to be not conforming to the provisions of the Act and Rules and Regulations made thereunder, penal action is initiated against the offender. 

FSSAI has informed that Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labeling) Regulations, 2011 have been notified under the FSS Act, 2006. These regulations prescribe the requirement/ contents to be mentioned on the label of food products. 

This information was given by the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Smt Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in Lok Sabha.