The KMC food team during Saturday’s survey on Dacres Lane . picture by Bipab Bhattacharjee
They also told us not to use any colour in sweets,” said Shyamal Sharma, the owner of Sharma Sweets. They checked the condiments we use but did not find anything wrong,” said Samiran Ghosh, the owner of Apanjan. Bubai Pandit, the manager of New Chittaranjan, said the KMC team checked their kitchen, the oil that is used and the food items. “They did not serve any notice, but only told us to follow the FSSAI guidelines,” said Pandit. KMC sources said during the visits, they were picking up samples from eateries where the food safety officers accompanying the team suspected something amiss.
At Dacres Lane, the team visited Apanjan, Sharma Sweets, New Chittanjan (Chitto-da) and Suruchi, all popular joints feeding hundreds of people every day. Almost the entire stock of Sharma Sweets was destroyed and dumped in a bin as the team found the items unhygienic. “The sweets were kept uncovered. There were flies. They threw away the stock. We had moong ladoo and other sweets. At Apanjan, the KMC team asked the owners to label the food with the date of preparation and the ‘use by’ date, which was missing. A bucket of boiled rice was also thrown away. “We had both uncooked and cooked food in our store. The KMC team asked us to ensure that every food item mentions when it was prepared and by when it must be consumed. We were not aware of such food safety guidelines and we will adhere to it henceforth. Ghosh also owns the Apanjan store at Sadananda Road near Rashbehari. The team also visited many of the pice hotels along Dacres Lane. Hundreds of people working in the neighbouring offices in Esplanade and Chandni Chowk visit the pice hotels for their lunch every day. The samples will be analysed in laboratories and final results will arrive after a fortnight.