Kollam Corporation Health officials seized stale food items from about 29 hotels in various regions of the Corporation in early morning raids on Friday.
The Health Department officials led by Corporation Health Supervisor P Gopinathan conducted inspection by forming four squads.
Of the 36 food joints and shops inspected by the officials, 29 were served show cause notices. The offenders were given a seven-day period to present their explanation, following which punitive action will be taken.
At least 34 kg of dressed chicken and beef, unfit for consumption, was seized from Al Manama super market near Corporation office. It was found that the freezers that stored the chicken and meat products were switched off during nights.
Stale food was seized from various food joints including, YMCA canteen, Rameez and Revathy Bar in Chinnakkada; Sagara and Xavier’s in Kadappakada region; Delight in Vadakkevila region, Thuvana, Santhosh, Bismi, six unnamed fast food centres and a toddy shop in Eravipuram region and Crazy, Anizham, Sea Land, Lourde, Ashoka Tea Land, Koyenka and Sons, Brothers and Trinity in Ramankulanagara-Sakthikulangara region and Rengith and Trinity.
In Punalur, Municipality health wing conducted raids at 15 eateries and seized stale food items and oil. Officials ordered to close down Malabar Food at Chakka road due to sub standard hygiene conditions. However, officials did not release the list of hotels from where stale food was seized.
Following joint raids by health officials and police in Kottarakkara, four food joints including the KSRTC Bus Stand canteen were ordered to be closed, for not maintaining hygiene standards.
The KSRTC canteen functioned near the comfort station at the bus stand and food was stored in filthy conditions. Show cause notice was served to those found violating safety standards.
Kannur: Stale food and food items kept in highly unhygienic conditions were confiscated by the officials of the Health Department and the Municipal authorities from various hotels and restaurants in the district here on Friday also.
Raids were conducted on hotels and restaurants in the satellite towns of Kannur including Puthiatheru in Chirakkal panchayat.
Interestingly, Health officials couldn’t spot any stale food items at the Indian Coffee Houses.
Rice and curry and fried fish and chicken kept in the kitchens at some of the hotels were found to be unfit for human consumption, according to the officials who conducted the raids.
The Hotel and Restaurants’ Association has decided to hold a strike on Saturday in protest against the raids. The office-bearers of the association said that hotels and restaurants will remain closed from Saturday morning till midnight as part of the stir. They alleged that even fish which was allowed to be kept in fridges was being taken away by the Health officials as stale food article.
Tirur: A bakery and a restaurant were sealed by health officials after stale food items were seized from them in a raid conducted on Friday. The officials found old shawarma from the freezer at Poonthala Bakery situated at Tirur Bus Stand.
Twenty kilograms of old meat was stored in the bakery along with ice cream. A restaurant functioning near the bus stand in unhygienic conditions was also asked to shut down. Raids were conducted on eight restaurants in the town.