2 weeks ago
Kolkata Plans Zone-Wise Food Safety Inspections After Violations
Kolkata officials want to check food businesses more carefully.
They will inspect one area of the city at a time instead of spreading checks across the whole city.
The inspections will include large restaurants, small eateries and street-food sellers.
Officials will look for unsafe or adulterated food.
They will also check whether businesses have the registration or licence they need.
In an earlier week-long drive, teams visited 592 places.
They collected food samples and threw away 1,224kg of food that broke safety rules.
Some businesses were temporarily closed, but 10 were allowed to reopen after fixing problems.
The food safety commissioner directed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to intensify checks against adulterated food and unlicensed establishments.
Future inspections will focus on one city area at a time, covering restaurants, eateries, street vendors and food sellers in lanes and bylanes.
During a September 1–7 drive, KMC teams visited 592 establishments, collected 161 samples and discarded 1,224kg of food.
The KMC issued suspension notices to 54 establishments for food safety violations across Kolkata’s 144 wards.
Around 10 establishments were allowed to reopen after correcting violations, while about 14 had sought fresh inspections.
- Who
- The Kolkata Municipal Corporation, under instructions from food safety commissioner Suman Bhattacharya, will conduct the inspections.
- What
- Officials will intensify food-safety checks and verify that establishments have valid registrations or licences.
- Where
- Across Kolkata, including restaurants, markets, roadside eateries, lanes, bylanes and designated food courts.
- When
- The instruction was issued on Wednesday; an earlier drive took place from September 1 to 7.
- Why
- To combat adulterated food and make food businesses more responsible and compliant with safety rules.
Key facts
- Establishments visited
- 592 during the September 1–7 drive
- Samples collected
- 161
- Food discarded
- 1,224kg
- Suspension notices
- 54 establishments
- Reopened establishments
- Around 10 after rectifications
- Fresh inspection applications
- Around 14 establishments
- Licence threshold
- Businesses with turnover between ₹1.5 crore and ₹50 crore require a licence; those with lower turnover require registration
Quotes
A senior health department official
A health department official who described the commissioner’s instructions
“The commissioner said drives should not be scattered all over the city within a limited period. Instead, he instructed the civic officials to choose an area and continue the drive for some time, covering restaurants, eateries and smaller establishments selling food.”
telegraphindia.com
“The officials were also told to ensure that an establishment must possess a valid registration or a licence to operate, and there should be no relaxation on this.”
telegraphindia.com
Smita Pandey
KMC commissioner discussing the purpose and scope of the initial drive
“The food safety drive has been initiated to make the entire food industry a little more responsible and accountable to the people. We tried and covered extensively almost all segments offering food to the people, including hotels, clubs, restaurants, markets, bazaars”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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