Mar 5, 2018
Think before you eat: Vijayawada Roadside food stalls unhygienic
A food stall on the BRTS Road in Vijayawada
VIJAYAWADA: With day temperatures soaring in the city for the last few days, roadside refreshment stalls are mushrooming at every nook and corner in the city. Be it BRTS Road, One Town or Besant Road, most of the stall owners are ignoring basic hygiene, resulting in the spread of water-borne diseases in the city.
Even as raids by food and safety authorities are going on at restaurants, bakeries and tea shops across the city, the vendors of roadside refreshment stalls are making a fast buck by selling fruits and juices without any concern for safety. They are not taking measures to protect food items from files, insects or dust. Even the people are unmindful of the health complications these eatables can cause and are consuming them to beat the scorching heat.
Apart from the carts, some vendors are also selling refreshments and soft drinks made using machines attached to vehicles.
According to sources, most of these vendors are operating without permission. However, Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials said that they are taking necessary measures to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases in summer. Health experts opine that people should avoid fruits exposed to dust and juices prepared in an unhygienic manner sold through roadside stalls.
‘’People should drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. Natural refreshments like buttermilk and coconut water are always the best choice”, said Dr Ch Praveena, senior physician.
However, the vendors claim that refreshments are safe. “I have been serving refreshments in the city for more than a decade. I have never received complaints from any of my customers,’’ said K Nagarjuna Reddy, a vendor at Seetharampuram.
Eateries need to hire food safety officer to get licence
The draft regulations are being notified and the final regulations will be enforced subsequently.
The food regulator has drafted regulations for restaurants and eateries, requiring them to employ a food safety officer in order to obtain a licence.
The Food Safety & Standards Authority of India also made it mandatory for companies that sell food online to get separate licences under the Food Safety & Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Amendment Regulations, 2018.
Owners and vendors of food products sold on ecommerce platforms must display their licences or FSSAI registrations. The ecommerce firms will have to ensure that food articles have a pending shelf life of 30% or 45 days before expiry at the time of delivery to consumers. Such food products can be sampled at any point in the supply chain, the authority added.
While applying for a state or central licence, restaurants won’t have to submit blueprints or layout plans, names and lists of equipment and machinery, lists of food categories, copies of certificates obtained under Co-op Act, NOCs from manufacturers and recall plans.
“The revised condition prescribes that a Food Safety Display Board needs to be displayed at a prominent place in the premises and employment of at least one technical person or Food Safety Supervisor trained by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in case of restaurant,” the regulator said.
“Safety and standards are paramount in running any business which has food for human consumption,” said Rahul Singh, president of the National Restaurant Association of India. “The NRAI welcomes such initiatives as restaurants need to dedicate their resources towards food safety to successful execute measures and develop a culture within their premises to stay committed towards customer safety.”
The draft regulations are being notified and the final regulations will be enforced subsequently.
“All food companies will have to follow these revised regulations with immediate effect and the enforcement of these regulations will commence only after the final regulations are notified in the Gazette of India,” FSSAI said.
The regulator simplified rules for slaughter houses, making minimum sanitary and hygienic requirements mandatory because the earlier requirements were not compatible with the operation of small slaughter houses.
Rules have been laid down for catering companies, including those that provide services at eating houses, canteens at schools, colleges and other institutions, religious places, trains and flights, hospitals and events.
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