BHUBANESWAR/CUTTACK : Food safety inspections were on Tuesday carried out in the eateries across Twin City, during which around 35 kg stale and unhygienic food was destroyed following raids at two premier malls in Bhubaneswar while as many hotels sealed at CDA locality in Cuttack for serving spoiled food.
In the state capital, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) carried out surprise checks at Nexus Esplanade mall in Rasulgarh and Symphony mall at Hanspal. BMC officials said during the inspections, approximately 35 kg of stale and unhygienic food was discarded, while closure notices were issued to four food vending establishments.
Additionally, food safety officials also inspected a restaurant and other food outlets in Kalinga Nagar and CRPF area where around 6 kg stale and unhygienic food was destroyed and four samples were collected for chemical examination.
City food safety officer Satyajit Patel said apart from serving stale food, a few of the outlets were found not keeping their kitchen areas clean. The four food vending establishments, where poor hygiene and food safety standards were noticed, have been warned that their outlets will be sealed if they fail to comply with food safety norms, he said.
In Cuttack, the health and food safety wing of Cuttack Municipal Corporation sealed two hotels in CDA locality for allegedly serving adulterated paneer, and spoiled and stale food to the people amid poor kitchen hygiene.
The eateries which have been sealed are Hotel Debasish and Hotel Moonlight located in CDA Sector-7 locality. The raids were conducted basing on the complaints regarding the quality of food served at the two hotels. The CMC officials also seized more than one quintal adulterated paneer from a supplier.
CMC food safety officer Rashmita Behera said kitchens of both the hotels were extremely dirty. “Stale food was stored in refrigerators and served to customers after reheating. We also found expired curd and iodine test on paneer confirmed it was adulterated. In view of the violations, the two hotels were sealed,” she added.