Expired items found at Abohar eatery
Under the ‘War on Food Adulteration’ campaign being run by the Sriganganagar administration during the festive season, a team of the Medical and Health Department raided a famous restaurant located in Riddhi Siddhi colony. On the instructions of the District Collector, Dr Manju, Chief Medical Health Officer (CMHO), Dr Ajay Singla led the raids and warned eateries against playing with the health of the people who were being lured with special offers during festivals.
The CMHO said the departmental team conducted a thorough inspection of the kitchen of the restaurant that also has a bar in the posh colony under the Food Safety Act. He said during the inspection, a lot of irregularities were found in the food items. He said in the kitchen, food items such as bread being used in burgers and sandwiches were found past their expiry dates. Similarly, ingredients such as spices used in pizza were also expired.
He said insects were found in mushrooms, adding the department took it seriously and got these food items destroyed on the spot. He said the team also took samples of rice and cheese. The CMHO said it also surfaced veg and non-veg food items were being prepared together in the same kitchen and veg and non-veg food items were also found kept together in the fridge.
The CMHO said irregularities in food matters would not be tolerated as they directly correlate with the health of the people. He said instructions have been given to take necessary precautions regarding non-vegetarian and vegetarian food items.
The CMHO said the health team inspected another restaurant located on Kotwali Road. He said chicken gravy and Andhra gravy samples were collected from here. He added that the operator was ordered to maintain cleanliness.
Food Safety Officers Kanwarpal Singh, Hans Raj Godara and Hemant Sharma were included in the team.
The drive would continue to curb the sale and purchase of unauthorised, impure and adulterated food items, said District Information, Education, and Communication Officer Vinod Bishnoi.
The health department has urged consumers to be careful about the quality food they order and to inform the department on the helpline number if they suspect negligence from any restaurent.
