In what comes as a dampener for 40 restaurants, eateries and sweet shops ahead of the festive season of Durga Puja in October, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) suspended their Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licences. The reasons cited were primarily related to hygiene and the use of artificial ingredients in food. The 40 establishments include outlets of several big names, including Don Giovannis, Kareems, Kurry Patta, Zepto, Balaram Mullick and M/S Girish Chandra Dey.
KMC said its officials were surprised by the unhygienic conditions and the quality of ingredients at several sweet shops.
“What was alarming was the condition of the sweet shops. Bengal is very famous for sweets. From our experience, the environment in sweet shops needs to be better. We have guided them (sweet shop owners) to do so,” said Smita Pandey, KMC Commissioner.
Some establishments had retail licences but no manufacturing licences. The KMC released a detailed report outlining the reasons behind the suspension of each of the 40 eateries. These establishments now have to meet hygiene standards and have the relevant licences in place before they can reopen. The KMC has not specified a timeline, meaning these eateries and sweet shops can reopen before Durga Puja if they quickly address the issues identified during the inspections.
KMC also issued refrain notices to 89 establishments, including several big names, while Section 38 notices were issued to 112 establishments.
“We tried to extensively cover almost all the segments that offer food to the people, including hospitals, hotels, clubs, restaurants, bazaars and markets. So, it was a very eye-opening experience,” added Pandey.
KMC conducted checks at 592 commercial establishments, including malls, markets, hotels, social clubs, eateries and restaurants, during Food Safety Week from September 1 to 7. A total of 1,224 kg of unhygienic food was discarded by KMC officials, while 162 samples were collected for further examination. The aim of KMC’s checks on food establishments was to ensure better food quality for the public during the festive season.
The highest amount of food was discarded on the second day of inspections at markets, when 520 kg of unhygienic food supplies, including meat and seafood, was destroyed by KMC. The inspections covered major markets such as Hogg Market, Maniktala, Patipukur fish market and Tangra, also known as Chinatown.
Kolkata joins other cities in India where food safety and supply audits have been conducted at eateries and door-to-door food delivery establishments.
