147kg stale food destroyed in checks at city eateries in 20 days
Bhubaneswar: The food safety wing of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has destroyed 147 kg of stale, unhygienic food during surprise checks conducted at food stalls across the city in the past 20 days, officials said.
The raid, carried out jointly by food safety squads and BMC's SHINE (Sanitation and Hygiene Inspection for Neat Environment) team, resulted in the civic body collecting a total penalty amount of Rs 1.31 lakh from vendors who violated food safety norms. The ongoing drive is being conducted in response to jaundice and diarrhoea cases reported in the city.
On June 16, fines amounting to Rs 12,500 were collected from five establishments, with three hotels receiving closure notices.
On June 17, fines totalling Rs 30,000 were collected. Raids were conducted at Palasuni, Pandra, Gadakana, Patia, KIIT Square, Fire Station, Ganganagar and SUM Hospital on both days. "As many as 163 inspections have been conducted at these places. The raids continued until Monday. The highest amount of 50 kg of stale food was destroyed on June 21 at Chandrasekharpur, BDA area.
The raids will continue to keep people safe and generate awareness," said BMC commissioner Rajesh Patil.
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BMC officials said on June 18, raids were conducted in Aerodrome area and Soubhagyanagar, leading to the collection of Rs 57 lakh in fines. "So far, one water pouch manufacturing unit and three hotels have been sealed. Between June 1 and 13, 144 food samples were collected for laboratory testing, while between June 14 and 23, 49 samples were collected," a BMC official said.
Designated officer (food safety), Satyajit Patel, said vendors were also warned not to serve stale food.
"If the hotels repeat the practice of serving stale food, they will be slapped with closure notices along with penalties," he said. Food safety squads said fast food items and some local and popular delicacies are mostly dumped at the source itself. "Some well-established hotels are also storing stale food. So far, bacterial contamination has been detected in food samples.
Now, we will randomly check panipuri (gupchup) and dahi bara-aludam stalls to see if the water they use is contaminated," Patel added.
Laboratory tests can also ascertain if any colour or preservatives that are not permissible are used in food.
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