District food safety officials conducted a surprise inspection at a hotel in Thokkotu

Dakshina Kannada FDA officials inspect a restaurant in Thokkottu on Tuesday following a customer’s complaint about a cockroach found in a dish

Dr Praveen Kumar CH, district food safety officer, told TOI that a local resident who had gone to the hotel for breakfast recorded a video purportedly showing a cockroach in the dish and sent it to the department. “There was no proper cleanliness, food had been piled up and there was no separate storage room,” he said, adding that food items had been stored inside the premises, with the area around a covered well also being used for storage. He said officials directed the hotel management to immediately clean the premises, issued a notice and gave strict instructions to maintain hygiene and food safety standards. Praveen said the department expects establishments to undertake cleaning immediately when officials find deficiencies, rather than merely promising to rectify them later. He said hotels are also expected to carry out regular cleaning, including during the gap between lunch and evening service.

Mangaluru: District food safety officials conducted a surprise inspection at a hotel in Thokkotu on Tuesday after a customer complained of allegedly finding a cockroach in a dish served at the hotel.