Maintain hygiene while cooking Haleem: GHMC

HYDERABAD: With the holy month of Ramzan now barely 20 days away, the GHMC on Tuesday issued instructions to all hoteliers about the norms that they need to follow while preparing Haleem. Hoteliers were strictly told to place the Haleem bhatti (the set up to prepare Haleem) only on the ground floor and instructed them to procure stamped meat alone.

The meeting with several hoteliers was held at the GHMC headquarters and chaired by civic chief B Janardhan Reddy. "Ensuring hygienic food to people is our prime motto, we don't want to penalise anyone," said an official from the health and sanitation wing of GHMC. Apart from places where Haleem wil be prepared, even eateries selling the finished product should maintain hygienic conditions, officials said while also directing them to be well equipped with fire safety machinery in case of an emergency.

The hoteliers were also asked to dispose the waste, according to the civic norms, and instructed to cooperate with GHMC officials during inspections. "All the utensils made of copper should be coated with nickel to prevent food poisoning. There should be proper ventilation with adequate exhaust fans in the kitchens where Haleem is made, to ensure the safety and health of the workers," officials said. These safety measures were welcomed by food enthusiasts in the city who appealed to the civic authorities to regularly inspect the stalls selling Haleem.

"It's a good move as hygienic food is our right. In fact for most people price is not a concern if the food that is being sold is hygienic. It is therefore important that these eateries are continuously monitored so that they do not let their standards drop," said Abdul Adil a foodie from the city.

Apart from well-ventilated kitchens, GHMC officials also instructed hoteliers to provide clean clothing, masks and head caps to the staffers preparing Haleem all through the holy month.

It may be recalled that when GHMC teams inspected eateries during April, unstamped meat, preserving stale food, unhygienic kitchens and unsanitary conditions were among the common violations found plaguing eateries or restaurants in the city.