Kolkata Municipal Corporation cancelled forty food licences after inspections revealed violations (File photo)
KOLKATA: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has cancelled the food licences of 40 establishments, including restaurants and eateries, following a week-long inspection drive that uncovered several food safety violations, an official said on Tuesday. KMC commissioner Smita Pandey said 1,224kg of non-conforming food items were destroyed during the drive. “As part of the inspections, 161 food samples were collected, and notices were issued to 112 entities. The licences of 40 establishments have been cancelled,” she said.
The intensified inspection covered restaurants, hotels, food courts in shopping malls, markets and clubs across the city, news agency PTI reported. Officials also found cockroach and rat infestations in areas used for storing food, besides rotten food and fungal growth in food items, PTI reported.
Officials found rotten and contaminated food, fungal growth and unhygienic storage conditions at several establishments, she said. The cancellation of licences is temporary, and the affected establishments will have to undertake corrective measures to comply with prescribed food safety standards and apply afresh, officials said.