BHUBANESWAR: With Durga Puja round the corner, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked food vendors in the city to strictly comply with the food safety norms.
BMC officials has warned that there will be intense inspection of street food stalls and vends in the city during Puja and throughout the festive season. Any violation of food safety standards will draw penal action for the vendors and eatery owners.
A sensitisation camp was organised by the corporation for the street food vendors on Friday which was attended by nearly 200 eatery owner and traders. The programme was part of the ongoing drive to promote ‘Swachh Street Food’ under the Swachh Bharat drive.
Officials said, the vendors have been asked to strictly comply with the food safety norms and warned not to use food colour or other harmful substances in preparing food items at their stalls. “They have been asked not to use the same oil for repeated frying. There should also be no compromise on quality of products and materials used,” said BMC food safety officer Satyajit Pal.
Pal said BMC has seven food safety officers in its jurisdiction who along with the enforcement squads will make surprise checking of food stalls during the festivities to ensure that the quality of food served to customers is properly maintained.
Apart from the existing roadside eateries, hundreds of temporary foods stalls are put up near pandals during Durga Puja in the city every year. However, ensuring food safety and hygiene in these stalls has always remained a challenging task for the civic body.