HYDERABAD: Swedish furniture brand Ikea has temporarily suspended the sale of vegetarian biryani and samosa at its store in Hitec City. The move comes after social media was abuzz with pictures of caterpillar being found in biryani sold at the Ikea store.
In a statement, Ikea spokesperson said the brand was voluntarily stopping sales of “two of its most appreciated products.” It added that this was in view of food quality and customer health because a customer had “encountered a foreign object in the dish he ordered.” It further said: “IKEA follows strong internal processes to secure quality and takes full responsibility for its supply chain. IKEA India has initiated an internal review in order to take any corrective actions as needed.”
“Our team of health inspectors and other officials inspected the food court at Ikea. Food samples have been collected and will be sent for testing,” informed V Mamatha, Deputy Commissioner, Serilingampally zone, GHMC, had then told Express. “Even plastic used in the food court were less than 50 microns, which is a violation and we imposed a fine of `11,500,” she had said.
E Sudershan Reddy, assistant food controller - GHMC, had then observed that the food court had no mechanism to segregate waste generated in its kitchen. “The dry and wet waste is being dumped together which also amounts to violation of our waste segregation regulations. The company has shown negligence and we will be issuing a show cause notice after analysis,” he said. Even the food handlers were found to be unhygienic according to GHMC as they did not trim their nails.