Thiruvananthapuram corp and KHRA to conduct hygiene drive in food outlets
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: During surprise inspections conducted by the Commissionerate of Food Safety in 78 eateries in places such as Kazhakoottam, Technopark, Ulloor, Kowdiar, Kuravankonam and Thampanoor, six restaurants and bakeries were served closure notices due to unhygienic conditions and stale food. While 59 outlets were ordered to rectify their drawbacks, 29 were slapped with a fine of D1 lakh each.
According to Kerala Hotels and Restaurants Association (KHRA) district secretary B Vijayakumar, of the 59 outlets, 46 were inspected for the second time. This time, only nine were found to have violated the rules. “We are not against inspections and it is necessary to ensure that the quality of food is maintained. But through visual media, a wrong notion has been spread among the people that none of the hotels and restaurants is good enough. This needs to be stopped,” said Vijayakumar.
He also said that the KHRA, in association with the city corporation is planning to carry out the Suchitwa Mission next month which will focus on the hygiene conditions of the outlets. Hotel and restaurant owners will be shown different ways to keep the kitchen clean and how to dispose of the leftover food. A hygiene squad from the corporation will be appointed to monitor this.
Parallel to the inspections by the Food Safety Department, the health wing of the corporation has also been conducting drives to check for erring outlets. Although the food industry has extended their support, the stakeholders are concerned over the effects the raids would have on the functioning of the outlets if it gets negative publicity.
The practice of hiring workers on a short-term basis has been posing problems for eateries in obtaining health cards for the staff. To solve this problem, the 'Subhojanam' project of the corporation, which is expected to be launched on August 15, will make it mandatory for the restaurants to have trained food handlers in all sections, from cooking to packing. “We are presently giving awareness classes on personal hygiene, proper handling of food, waste management and segregation. Only after this, they will be allowed to handle food in the hotels and restaurants spread across the city," said Prakash S, health supervisor, city corporation.