Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) conducted surprise raids on temporary roadside eateries in the city and destroyed huge quantity of stale and unhygienic food on Friday.
A special squad of the BMC led by south-east zone Deputy Commissioner Anshuman Rath carried out the raids on seven food outlets near Master Canteen Square. They destroyed more than 60 kg of adulterated food and imposed fine of Rs 16,000 on the vendors.
BMC Food Safety Officer Satya Ranjan Patel checked the food sold by Green Chilly, Khata Mitha and Tiffin Stall at Ram Mandir and Hotel Sai Krupa, Hotel Maa Tarini, Kuk Doo Koo Restaurant and Panipuri stall near Railway Station. He found all the eateries flouting the norms and selling very poor quality food such as chicken biryani, chicken rolls, fish, crabs and others.
“During raids, we found these vendors selling stale and unhygienically prepared chicken and rice-based food items to people. We will continue to inspect all food-selling establishments to safeguard the health of people,” said Patel.
The special squads are also checking the use of different colours in the food items. The civic body has issued notice to the roadside food stalls to comply with the norms and maintain the quality as per the Food Safety and Standards Act.
“With many people preferring street food for taste, it’s important that hygiene and quality are ensured. Our inspection will continue, but we urge the people to avoid uncovered and unhygienic food,” said Rath.
The municipal corporation has made it mandatory for all food joints to display their licence in the kiosks. Those who do not have the licence have been asked to apply for it.
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