In India, the festive season has officially started with Navratri 2023 and Durga Puja 2023 celebrations. People across the country are starting to travel, pandal hop and relish all sorts of delicacies at restaurants and stalls, especially in cities like Kolkata, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, etc in Eastern Indian states. And to ensure tourists and locals eating out are safe while enjoying beautiful idols of Goddess Durga, state governments and local municipalities are taking all sorts of food safety measures.
In Kolkata, for example, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) recently conducted surprise visits at restaurants and stalls around the Golpark-Gariahat belt to check for food safety standards and violations. For those unaware, the Golpark-Gariahat area has plenty of popular Durga Puja pandals as well as food joints that get a huge footfall. The KMC therefore checked out eateries around these areas, especially on Purna Das Road and Hindusthan Road.
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Among the officials who visited and conducted food safety checks at these restaurants was Kolkata's Deputy Mayor, Atin Ghosh. "There is a tendency among a section of hotel and restaurant owners to partially cook food and keep it handy anticipating huge footfall during Puja," he explained. "This compromises the quality. Officials will revisit these places between Sasthi and Dashami. If we find the food quality compromised, we will levy heavy penalties on the owners."
Similarly in the Ranchi district of Jharkhand, food safety officials are insisting that all sweet vendors mention expiry dates for their confections to avoid food contamination and food poisoning during Durga Puja. “The special drive to ensure quality control will be conducted from Panchami to Dussehra. We will ramp up sample collections from sweet shops, restaurants, and eateries. We have sampled over 20 shops till now,” Subir Ranjan, the food safety officer for Ranchi district, told the media.
Meanwhile, in Bhubaneswar, the municipal corporation has not only given around 150 food vendors around the city with essential hygiene and food safety tips, but also equipped them to maintain these with certain goods. Mayor Sulochana Das and a special squad also conducted surprise checks at food stalls and eateries across the city. "We have made hand gloves and caps mandatory for the vendors," said BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange. "They have also been advised to wear aprons and masks. They have to follow basic hygiene requirements so that there is no contamination of food. During festivities, besides residents, thousands of outsiders throng here and it will send a better message to people if our vendors maintain cleanliness."