KOCHI: Raising concerns about the quality and safety of food served on trains, the health wing of the Kochi corporation, on Wednesday, seized stale food from a catering unit in Kadavanthra that supplies food to Vande Bharat Express and other trains.
The unit, according to the corporation health wing, had been functioning without a licence and other documents.
“The unit was functioning in unhygienic conditions without a licence for the past several months. Though the corporation issued notice multiple times and imposed a fine, there was no response. Thus we carried out a raid at the unit on Wednesday. We seized stale meat, chicken, eggs, masalas and foodgrain from the unit,” said V V Suresh, the health inspector of Kadavanthra health circle.
Meanwhile, following reports, the Southern Railway constituted a high-level committee of senior officers comprising the divisional commercial manager and health officer, Thiruvananthapuram, and the area manager of IRCTC to conduct an inquiry.
“The catering firm (Brindavan Food Products) has been penalised `1,00,000 by railways for lapses reported in cleanliness standards, and IRCTC has been advised to take stringent action. IRCTC has also stated that arrangements have been made to ensure an uninterrupted and hygienic food supply to passengers of Mail/Express trains, and major corrective steps are also being taken to maintain the standards of hygiene and food quality,” said an official statement released by the Southern Railway.
The corporation also closed and sealed the unit. “There was no person in charge at the unit. A few migrants are working at the facility. It was from the packing papers and containers that we found that the food was being supplied to the railways,” Suresh added.
The corporation had earlier received complaints from the residents about the improper sewage treatment at the unit. “A fine of `10,000 was imposed, and a notice was issued to install a sewage treatment system as sewage was being discharged into a nearby stream. Even after the deadline specified in the notice, the sewage treatment system was not installed,” said Mayor M Anilkumar.
He added that a letter has been sent to the electricity board to disconnect the power connection to the unit.
Following the incident, the opposition councillors urged strengthening inspections and food testing in the corporation, citing that the mobile food testing lab has not been functional.
Hefty fine slapped
Stale meat, eggs, grains, masalas found during raid
Southern Railway fined the caterer H1 lakh
Corporation sealed the unit and requested electricity disconnection