'Cancel licences of hotels for serving poor quality food'

State Food and Supplies department issued orders to various Municipalities to check the standard of foods served at various hotels and restaurants under their jurisdiction.

The department has also hinted that an FIR may be filed against the restaurant owners if the quality of food is not properly maintained. The designated officers of the Municipalities and Corporations will visit various restaurants from time to time, collect random samples of food. The Enforcement Branch officials will also join hands with their counterparts in the Municipalities while conducting raids in all the important restaurants in the city and the districts.

It has often been alleged that the hygiene and standard of food served at various hotels and restaurants are not properly maintained. According to a senior official of the department, the samples of the food collected from the restaurants will be sent to the laboratory and if the reports say that the quality of food is not properly maintained, action will be taken against the restaurant owners by the Food and Supplies department.

The decision was taken by the department to crackdown on the restaurants under various Municipal areas after the department found that poor quality food are being served at various restaurants in North 24 Parganas. The Municipalities have been instructed to start raids in assistance with the Enforcement Branch within a week.

A senior official of the Food and Supplies department said that they found some shocking incidents recently in which some restaurants had been accused of serving below standard food to customers. He also said that strict action would be taken against the restaurant owners. The Municipality and the Enforcement department will lodge FIRs against the restaurants where poor quality food will be found served.

According to the official, the department may also go ahead and cancel the food and trade license of a restaurant if it is found to have been serving poor quality food. The Municipalities have already been instructed to deal with this issue in strong hands. The Food and Supplies department instructed the Municipalities to cancel the licenses of the restaurants and hotels if they serve below standard food to customers.