THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The food safety department plans to intensify the inspections in eateries as part of the ‘Kerala, A Safe Food Destination’ campaign from February 1. It plans to accomplish this by involving personnel from the health department to augment its inspections.
They will ensure the general hygiene in the eateries, Health Minister Veena George said. The food safety department plans to strengthen the inspection in the wake of a series of new guidelines issued by the department. As per the new mandate, all employees handling food in shops that prepare, distribute and sell food items should have a health card.
The card is issued after a medical examination to ensure the employees are free from infectious diseases, wounds and other diseases. The role of health inspectors would be to check the health cards and sanitation. The health minister reiterated that no shops would be allowed to function if any employee is found without a health card.
She also warned people against issuing fake health cards and possessing them. A medical practitioner issues the health card in a form prescribed on the FSSAI website. The test involves body examination, eye testing, skin disease testing, wound examination, a blood test to determine contagious disease, vaccination status etc. The card is valid for a year.