Close to 100kg of rotten chicken was seized by the food safety department officials from 20 restaurants including some of the popular restaurant chains in Pudukkottai on Tuesday. Besides the rotten meat, over 50 litres of soft drinks well beyond the expiry date was seized from a bar.
The team also took samples of colouring agent from a restaurant after suspecting it to contain carcinogens.
All the shops were served notice directing them to improve the quality of food served. Officials said that further action would be taken based on a follow-up inspection in a few days. The decayed meat and expired soft drinks were destroyed by the food safety officials.
“So far we have been focusing on licensing and registration of shops and eateries. The focus has now shifted to quality of food items being served to the public,” said R Ramesh Babu, designated officer from food safety department for Pudukkottai.
“We found mostly frozen chicken that was decayed. There was no bills available on the purchase of the meat. We could identify the decayed meat by observing the change in colour of its upper layer,” he said.
Asked on the rotten meat being kept in the restaurant, Ramesh said that such restaurants do not have dedicated workers to check the quality of the meat and raw materials.
“There are 30 restaurant in Pudukottai apart from 100 small hotels. Inspection would be carried out in a phased manner in other restaurants in the coming days,” said officials.
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