Soon, KMC notices to owners of Kolkata restaurants over food safety licenses

KOLKATA: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation will send notices to owners of city's hotels restaurants reminding them of the necessity of applying for licenses under Food Standard & Safety Act. The KMC will serve a one month deadline for such application. Those who will fail to apply on time will be taken to court. Under the government of Indiafood safety act, the magistrate may impose a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the offenders who are running food business without a license under the new food safety act. Those who fail to deposit the penalty may have to land in prison.

The KMC health department top brass took the decision after the deadline for application for the food license expired on August 4. According to a KMC health department source, there are 88,000 businessmen who run hotels or restaurants are registered with the civic body. Apart from obtaining a trade license they used to obtain or renew food adulteration license from the KMC health department. However, in 2011 the Centre asked the KMC health department to ask these businessmen to apply for the new license under food safety act. The civic body asked them to convert from food adulteration license to food safety license and extended the deadline from time to time. "This time we don't have anything to do but book those who won't apply for the new license.

We have found several cases of food adulteration even in some of the reputed restaurants. Harmful metallic colours are being used in food items including biryani. This must stop now," Atin Ghosh, the member, mayor-in-council overseeing the KMC health department said. The KMC has already formed a team of food inspectors to conduct surprise raids on a some errant restaurants found to be guilty of adulteration in food.