Key Development

Food Safety and Legal Metrology officials raided 80 hotels, restaurants, bakeries, and sweet shops across Visakhapatnam in a massive drive to curb unsafe food practices. They carried out the coordinated inspections to check food safety compliance, kitchen hygiene, and the use of expired or unlabelled ingredients. The teams inspected kitchen areas, examined food storage methods, and assessed hygiene levels. During the raids, they found several outlets using expired raw materials, sauces, and products without expiry labels. They collected over 80 food samples and sent them to labs for analysis.

Officials Register 33 Cases, Issue 20 Notices

Inspectors booked 33 cases—17 against restaurants for storing spoiled food and 16 against bakeries and sweet shops for using expired or unlabelled items. They issued notices to 20 food businesses for unhygienic conditions and violations offood  safety norms. Joint Food Controller N. Poornachandra Rao confirmed that authorities will file criminal charges if the lab results confirm contamination. He also warned that repeat offenders could face stricter penalties, including temporary or permanent closure of their outlets.

Surprise Raids to Continue

Officials plan to continue such surprise inspections across Visakhapatnam. With the upcoming festival and tourist seasons, they aim to ensure safe food handling and better hygiene standards in all food establishments.

Source: The Hindu