KMC's health dept to again embark on food drive from Nov 11
Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation's (KMC) awareness drive in connection to curb inferior quality of food being served at eateries during Durga Puja has yielded good results and a similar drive will again start from November 11 and will continue till Bhaiphota, informed officials.
The civic body has conducted its surveillance regarding food in 200 hotels and restaurants in the city and apart from a handful of restaurants in central Kolkata there has been hardly any problem with the quality of food and maintenance of hygiene during cooking and serving .
"We conducted checks at 204 odd hotels and restaurants spread across all the 16 boroughs from October 18 till Lakshmi Puja. 195 samples were collected and tested to assess whether the standard food quality is being maintained by them. Only one of the sample had failed the quality testing. We have initiated action against the restaurant as per Food Safety Act," said Atin Ghosh, Member Board of Administrators, KMC who is in charge of the Health wing of the civic body.
The highest number of samples over 25 were tested in Borough X which includes areas like Lake Gardens, Ranikuthi, Netaji Nagar, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Golfgreen etc.
Officials in the food wing also checked whether the restaurants were serving food maintaining Covid protocols. Most of the restaurants have been found to take measures like sanitisers, thermal scanning and wearing of masks on the part of customers
and waiters while dealing with food.
"We were apprehensive that amidst the Covid pandemic situation the turnout at the restaurants will be comparatively lesser this year and the restaurants may be using the leftover food of the previous day the next day. But we have found only a few cases of such nature," said a senior official who was part of the food drive.
Ghosh said that the food drive will again start from November 11 and will continue till Bhaiphota. During this period both food and sweet samples will be collected and tested.
