6,200 litres of banned coconut oil seized

A day after a ban was imposed on 45 brands of coconut oil in the State, Food Safety authorities on Saturday seized nearly 6,200 litres of coconut oil in the Kovalam circle.

The coconut oil belonged to three brands manufactured by Jithu Oil Mills at Asanvila. Half litre and 1 litre pouches of Kera Three-in-One, Kera Premium Gold, and Parimritham, estimated to cost nearly ₹13 lakh were seized. The brands were not registered.

Statutory samples of the three brands were also seized and sent to the Government Analyst’s Laboratory here for testing.

Food Safety officials said they had collected samples of various brands of coconut oil from the market, and one brand manufactured by Jithu Oil Mills had been found substandard. Their brands had also been found to be substandard in other districts and figured among those banned. Hence, an inspection was conducted at their manufacturing unit. Different brands of oil were found there and were seized.

Edible oil used in Step by Step was sub-standard, says lab report

The edible oil was used to make paranthas at the school

Noida: The report by UP government’s food testing laboratory has stated that the edible oil used in the preparation of paranthas served to students of Step by StepSchool, who fell ill after consuming the food, was sub-standard.

However, officials said that the sub-standard edible oil cannot be the reason for food poisoning as it did not contain any harmful or poisonous substance. On April 5, nearly 190 students fell ill due to food poisoning after consuming food in the school.

The report added that the samples of the raw ajwain (carom seeds) collected from the school met standards.

Interestingly, as the school had disposed the food prepared that day, a team from the food safety and drug administration (FSDA) and the city magistrate could not gather any samples of the same and could collect only two samples of raw ingredients – ajwain and edible oil.

Sanjay Sharma, designated officer, FSDA department, told TOI that the report of the samples sent to the Rajkiya Khadya Evam Aushadhi Vishleshak Prayogshala came on Saturday. “The samples of the edible oil have been found sub-standard but it did not contain anything which can cause food poisoning. The raw carom seeds have been found to be meeting standards,” Sharma said.

TOI had earlier reported that the water samples taken from the school tanks on April 11 by a team of the health department had not revealed any contamination. These samples were taken after the school got all the tanks cleaned.

Officials, however, point out that since the tanks and even dust-bins of the school were cleaned after the incident, it will not be possible to know the real reason for the food poisoning.

Chief medical officer Anurag Bhargava said the school had cleared everything and had allowed entry to food officials after making them wait for nearly two hours.

“All the samples are clear but 190 children fell sick. Isn’t it a lapse on the part of the school and the administration? They should at least have collected the water samples,” a parent of one of the students who were hospitalised, told TOI.

A statement from Step by Step school said: “We have not received the report from the authorities as yet. We are awaiting finding of the investigation by the authorities.”

Raid on eatery exposes unhygienic conditions

Vijayawada: Raids conducted by the officials of the food safety department on an eatery on Museum Road on Friday and ice factories on May 22 in some parts of Krishna district exposed the horrible conditions prevailed in the eateries and ice factories.

The officials were shocked to see the poor hygienic conditions in the eatery on Kaleswara Rao Road and immediately seized it on Friday. 

Keeping in view of the demand for variety of dishes, the owners of the eateries and restaurants are simply cooking and serving the customers without maintaining hygienic conditions on their premises and kitchens. The officials also noticed stale food items in the eatery. 

The food safety department officials after receiving complaints from the customers raided the Good Morning Restaurant on Friday and seized it. 

Assistant food controller (AFC) N Purnachandra Rao led the raid. The officials noticed that stale flour was being used for making different food items. 

Moreover, the sanitation conditions inside the restaurant were also very bad. 

Good Morning Restaurant is located in a very important location at Governorpet. 

Consequently, a large number of customers visit the restaurant every day. Unfortunately, the management had failed to maintain hygiene and use quality raw materials in preparation of food items. 

Assistant food controller N Purnachandra Rao said the restaurant was seized due to poor hygienic conditions and using stale material for cooking. 

This is only a tip of the iceberg. If the officials conduct raids on some more restaurants in the city, many facts will be exposed about the poor quality of food served to the customers and poor hygiene inside the eateries and restaurants.

Due to shortage of staff, the food safety department is not able to conduct raids on many restaurants, hotels and eateries in the city. 

Hundreds of road side eateries are serving food items from 5 am in the morning to 10.30 pm. In most cases, the owners are neglecting the environs in kitchen and wash rooms.

In the rainy season, there is a possibility of outbreak of seasonal deceases due to poor hygienic conditions. 

Customers are asking the officials to conduct more raids on the eateries, restaurants and hotels in the city and keep a vigil on the hygienic conditions, quality of material used for cooking. 

Raids conducted by the officials on four ice factories on May 22 in the district also exposed the dirty conditions prevailed in the ice factories.