Consumers are urged to lodge complaints of poor hygiene and quality of food either through the dedicated app or via WhatsApp number 9444042322, Food Safety officials have said.
The State health department has so far collected over ₹10.26 lakh as fine from shops and eateries for selling poor quality meat and other edible items.
During the inspection conducted in eateries across the State since August 28, it was found that 1,572 eateries of the 15,236 outlets which were inspected were serving poor quality meat. Health officials confiscated and destroyed 5,018kg of poor-quality meat. The department had collected ₹8.79 lakh as fine from eateries for selling poor quality meat.
Similarly, 23 shops of the 7,760 outlets that were subjected to inspection were sealed for supplying unhygienic food products. A total of 238 shops were found to have stocked poor quality coconut chutney, butter milk and curd. As much as 213 kg of the said products were confiscated and ₹1.47 lakh was realised through fine.
The Food Safety department has extended for another year the ban on sale of tobacco and substances with nicotine as an additive. In the past two years an estimated 191.1 tonne of gutkha and paan masala, worth ₹12.56 crore had been confiscated, a health department release said.
In an analysis of 603 food samples, as many as 535 were found to be unsafe and the producers of such products were fined ₹21.2 lakh. Also, 35 food samples were found to be of poor quality and the manufacturers were fined ₹2.93 lakh.
Of the online survey done on 1,67,986 food manufacturers, 48,217 samples were inspected and 2,975 were found unsafe. While 9,720 food samples were found to be of low quality, 9,093 cases were registered and ₹7.97 crore was levied as fine. As many as 2,063 criminal cases were filed and ₹3.40crore was the fine amount, the statement added.
