KOCHI: The action taken by the Food Safety Wing and the Health Department against lassi making units for operating in unhygienic conditions in the city seems to have cast a dark shadow over the future of lassi shops in the city.
After the department sealed the lassi manufacturing unit at Karukappally last month and issued stop memos to over 10 lassi shops, business has watered down, resulting in a big revenue slide for the shops. The lassi shop owners who had invested lakhs to start the franchises are now thinking of selling the shops.
"The revenue dip started after the Food Safety Department closed down a lassi making shop at Karukappally. Several regular customers have stopped visiting the shops fearing adulterated drinks. Though we have never used adulterated drinks in our shops, people are afraid to visit the shops and it is difficult to change their mindset. The only option available for us is to sell; we are waiting for a buyer for our shop," said a lassi shop owner in the city.
While sealing the manufacturing unit at Karuvelippady about a month back, the officers found dog poop, chemicals and worms crawling in vessels adjacent to the area where the lassi was being made. They also had found the water for making curd was collected from the toilet. This also forced the Food Safety Department and the Heath wing of the Corporation to conduct inspections at all the lassi shops in the city to assess the quality of lassi being served.
"Earlier, we could generate a revenue of around Rs 20,000 in a day, but after the raid, it came down to Rs 8,000. For running the shop, we need to spend over Rs 2 lakh in a month, including on salary and rent. We are going through a rough patch," said a worker of a lassi shop.
As per the Corporation's rough estimate over 200 new lassi shops were opened in the city within a short span. "How can we visit such shops if they are selling adulterated drinks? I stopped taking lassi and other juice items from these shops," said Ashraf, a regular customer.
Meanwhile, the Food and Safety Department is awaiting the lab report to initiate more action against lassi making units and other shops. "Though we handed over the samples to the Regional Chemical Laboratory, the lab reports are yet to come. Based on the report we could initiate more action against the lassi shops. More inspections will be carried out in the coming days as well," said K V Shibu, district food safety officer, Ernakulam.
He also said action will be initiated against shops functioning without a proper licence.