UDUPI: The popular and the second richest temple in Karnataka, Sri Mookambika Temple at Kollur in Udupi district, has received a quality certificate from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under Blissful Hygienic Offering to God (BHOG) scheme—an initiative started by the Association of Food Scientists and Technologist of India (AFSTI).
This certificate has been given to the temple for offering clean and hygienic ‘prasadam’ to devotees. About 5,000 to 7,000 devotees are served lunch ‘prasadam’ at this temple on a daily basis.
Auditing before giving this certificate was done by a team and necessary training was given to the cooking staff at the temple. Considering various factors like hygiene, ventilation, storage and the clean water used during the preparation of the food, this certificate was accorded by FSSAI, said Dr Premanand, designated officer, FSSAI, Udupi.
Along with Kollur Temple, other famous temples like Kukke Sri Subrahmanya, Sri Manjunatha Swamy Temple, Dharmasthala in DK district and Marikamba Temple, Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district also are selected under (BHOG) scheme.
Dr Premanand said that devotees not just from Karnataka, but from other states and overseas also visit the temple to worship Goddess Mookambika in Kollur. All are offered lunch in the form of ‘prasadam’ free of cost. So the certification of the ‘prasadam’ is a good step as it would guarantee the quality and hygiene of the devotees, he said.
The auditing team had checked how the kitchen in the temple is designed and maintained, how the flooring was done and other facilities before recommending for the certification from the FSSAI. The team had also mentioned how well the leftover items were discarded.
The team had observed here the cook never used the oil twice for frying the food items.