COIMBATORE: A consumer has alleged that his complaint regarding rotten packed fruit bought from a supermarket in the city was registered by the Food Safety Department five days later. The customer said he raised the complaint through FSSAI helpline but the process of sample collection was delayed by over five days.
The complainant, a resident of Vadavalli - Thondamuthur Road said he purchased a packed pineapple chunk for Rs 30 on October 11. “When I opened it, all the chunks in the pack were rotten and there was foul odour. We threw it away.
Before that, I took a photo of it and sent it to the food safety department via WhatsApp and filed a complaint. Even with a clear address, complaint and photo, no response was received. They did not even inform whether the complaint was accepted or not,” said the complainant, who did not want to be named. On October 16, he received an acknowledgement and complaint reference number.
“Facilities like WhatsApp (94440-42322) and app (TN Food Safety Consumer App) were launched so that people can easily complain about the quality of food products. But when there is so much delay in the response, we doubt when the investigation will begin,” he said.
A senior FSSAI official said complaints related to food products should be acknowledged and taken up for inquiry within 24 hours. “Taking five days to acknowledge the complaint is not possible and we will check whether there is any technical snag in the communication,” the officer said.
Sources in the district food safety department said investigation is under way.