Kolkata: The state govt has sealed 17 restaurants, food-processing and packaging units, prohibited sales at 16 eateries and cancelled the licences of five others after finding them in violation of food safety norms. Currently, the state is conducting an intense food safety drive across the state, which will continue for three more days.
So far, 2,337 establishments across the state have been inspected and 1,277 samples have been collected for testing.
Health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee, however, said that the punitive actions are temporary as permanent closure would mean robbing the livelihood of many attached to those units. “We have introduced 30 state-of-the-art mobile for testing samples to see whether those conform to food safety standards,” added Mukherjee. Mukherjee hinted at restoring licences once they comply with suggestions by food safety officials. A popular restaurant in Salt Lake Sector V and a well-known fast-food centre in the Salt Lake area are among those against which actions have been initiated. Closer to Kolkata, a food joint in Star Mall in Madhyamgram and a multi-cuisine restaurant in Sodepur appear on the list of units against which actions have been taken. Reasons like stocking of stale meat, stale fish, unhygienic kitchen, expired cooking ingredients, ingredients that do not conform to food safety standards, use of harmful colour, use of toxic chemical dye, etc., have been cited for the cancellation of licences or sealing of the units. Ahead of the Durga Puja festival, the health minister appealed to food units to use FSSAI-certified ingredients, maintain hygiene and serve quality food to consumers. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolkata | Silver Rate in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Petrol Price in Kolkata | Diesel Price in Kolkata | CNG Price in Kolkata | LPG Price in Kolkata