Intensive drive to ensure food safety

The food safety wing has begun an intensive drive to ensure food safety standards in hotels and restaurants during the festival season.

Following a directive of the Commissioner of Food Safety, the drive will be carried out under K. Anil Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Food Safety (Administration and Legal), D. Ashrafudin (Jt. Commissioner, Enforcement) and G. Gopakumar, who will be in charge of three zones in the State, and will engage 17 squads of food safety officers for inspections.

In Thiruvananthapuram district, 34 food businesses were inspected at Neyyattinkara, Kovalam, Vembayam, Varkala and Killipalam, and the operations of Crescent Hotel at Kowdiar, Madan tea stall at Thycaud, the production unit of MRA Bakery at Killipalam and another bakery unit at Vembayam have been stopped by officials for serious violations of safety standards.

Fine was imposed on 23 eateries and improvement notices were served on 24 others. Officials also destroyed one lot of ‘Bombay Sweet,’ which was found to contain non-permitted or banned synthetic colours, from an outlet at Thycaud.

Similar raids are being carried out by the special squads in all districts, an official release said here on Friday.