The Food Safety and Standards Act will be strictly enforced in the state, Health Minister V S Sivakumar said on Wednesday.
The Act, which came into effect on August 5, 2011, is applicable to establishments including hotels, bakeries and distributors of raw food materials, he said. The Food Safety Commissioner has been instructed to ensure that the law is strictly enforced across the state, the minister said. Stringent action will be taken against those who violate the law, he said.
On the Salwa Cafe incident, Sivakumar said that top Food Safety officials have left for Bangalore for collecting evidence. Sachin Roy Mathew of Mavelikkara had died after allegedly consuming food purchased from this hotel which has now been closed down. The minister said that Food Safety officials have strengthened raids across the state.
On Tuesday, 211 hotels were inspected and seven - six in Thiruvananthapuram and one in Kollam - have been shut down. Improvement notices were issued to 111 hotels.
On Wednesday, 60 hotels were inspected. Five - two in Ernakulam, one each in Pathanamthitta and Thrissur - were closed down. Thirty-nine hotels were issued improvement notices, the minister said.
A customer is liable to be paid compensation by the hotel/restaurant owner in the event of problems with the food, but the hotel bill is a key piece of evidence. So consumers should insist on being given the bill, the minister said.