The district administration has directed to intensify inspections at anganwadis, civil supplies godowns, fish markets, and other food distribution centres to ensure food safety.
As part of the monsoon preparedness, joint squads will conduct surprise inspections at hotels, bakeries, and juice stalls. While night inspections will be held at roadside eateries, surveillance will be strengthened at check posts to prevent the inflow of stale fish during annual trawling ban. According to Food Safety officials, out of the samples collected from 2,775 establishments inspected between 2022 December and May, 38 were found to be unsafe, eight sub-standard and 43 in the misbranded category.
Following the inspections, 34 adjudication and 19 prosecution cases were registered under Food Safety and Standards Act. “While 940 samples were collected by food safety mobile lab, rectification notices were issued to 597 establishments with strict instructions, improvement notices were issued to 12 institutions and compounding notices were issued to establishments that were found to have serious irregularities. A total of ₹8,64,000 fine has been collected from 147 entrepreneurs,” said Food Safety Assistant Commissioner S. Aji. As part of Operation Matsya, 462 inspections were carried out by the special squad at wholesale centres, fish stalls, and fish markets in the district. The departments had intensified vigil after seizing chemical-laced fish and a total of 243.5 kg of stale and adulterated was destroyed. Around 299 establishments in the district were inspected by the special squad formed as part of Operation Shawarma. While notices were issued to 19 establishments and a fine of ₹30,700 was imposed. The department had also collected 11,678 kg of used oil under the RUCO (Re-Purpose Used Cooking Oil), an initiative to convert used cooking oil into biodiesel.
