Court directive to ensure food safety

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the State government and the Commissioner of Food Safety to continue with random inspection of hotels and restaurants to ensure that hygienic and safe food was served to the public.

The Bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice A.M. Shaffique asked them to keep strict vigil and not to stop the inspection.

The court also asked the Association of Hotel and Restaurants to address the problems raised by the public and conduct periodic seminars and meetings to have self-introspection and to do their best to give safe and hygienic food to the public.

The directives were issued by the Bench while disposing of a writ petition filed by High Court lawyer Basil Attipetty seeking a directive to eateries in the State to sell food in accordance with the standards stipulated in the Food Safety and Standards Act and Rules.

In an action taken report, the government said officials of the Food Commissionerate had intensified the inspection across the State to see that the eateries supplied hygienic food. The Commissioner of Food Safety had issued certain guidelines for hotels, bakeries, fast food units, drinking water suppliers, and drinking water tanker lorries. That apart, a special drive had been conducted to ensure quality of drinking water and vegetables. In a special drive conducted during the Onam season, two tanker lorries suspected to be carrying coconut oil adulterant were confiscated and licence of the consignee firm suspended.

The report said the absence of scientific slaughterhouses had been a major concern, especially since the State was a major consumer of non-vegetarian foods. The government was taking steps to establish scientific slaughterhouses in the State.