CHENNAI: Chennai’s designated Food Safety Officer P Satheesh Kumar has been transferred and moved back to the Directorate of Public Health (DPH). Tiruvallur Food Safety Officer M Jegadish Chandra Bose will hold additional charge as the Chennai food safety officer.
The transfer comes in the backdrop of rumours about the ‘seizure of watermelons injected with chemicals’ from several shops in the city. This led to protests by farmers and shop owners, who dismissed the rumours as baseless and said it had badly affected the sale of watermelons. Farmers also raised concern over a video released by the Food Safety Department on how to identify chemical-mixed watermelons, saying it only fuelled public fear and mistrust.
Following the backlash, Kumar held a press conference clarifying that no fruit mixed with chemicals had been seized and the department was only trying to raise awareness about such adulteration. Kumar also assured that watermelons sourced from Tamil Nadu farmers were safe for consumption.
He was also in the news a few days ago after a team led by him, which was on its way to inspect a hotel on Anna Salai, returned midway after the officer complained of health issues.
This is not the first time the ‘camera-friendly’ officer has courted controversy. In 2022, a hotel association approached the Madras HC to restrain the “self-publicity” by officials, alleging that Kumar conducted spot inspection in the presence of media and made negative remarks even before sending food samples for analysis.
Earlier the same year, he was transferred after inspecting a food stall inside the Vadapalani temple and suspending its trade licence for allegedly stocking expired food items.