Rajkot, Aug 11 (IANS) The Rajkot Municipal Corporation’s Food Department destroyed around 2,601 kg of stale and inedible food products and inspected 48 establishments during a surveillance drive against food adulteration and unhygienic practices, the civic body said on Tuesday.
The department said eight establishments were issued notices over storage, food licences and hygienic conditions, while administrative charges totalling Rs 8,500 were collected.
Among the major actions, officials inspected Shrinathji Trading on Gondal Road after samples had been collected and stock was kept in abeyance.
The food business operator accepted that approximately 2,570 kg of red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander-cumin powder were adulterated and coloured, following which the stock was destroyed using vehicles of the civic body’s Solid Waste Management Department.
At Jai Ganesh Enterprise, operating as Sutto Ji Bhar Ke at West Gate Complex near Raiya Chowkdi, eight packets of expired bread and four burger bases were destroyed and a Rs 500 administrative charge was collected.
At Agreetable Inco. Thakor Dwar in Shastrinagar, eight kg of expired cereal products were destroyed, and a Rs 3,000 charge was imposed, besides a notice over hygiene and storage.
Officials also destroyed two kg of stale bread at Jalaram Chinese & Punjabi and issued a licence-related notice.
At Rolito Wraps & More in West Gate Complex, eight packets of expired liquid cheese, 15 kg of material, three packets of bread and two burger bases were destroyed, with a Rs 5,000 charge collected.
Licence-related notices were also issued to Radhe Vadapav, Ravi Madras Cafe, Thakar Dalpakwan, Dil Khush Pani Puri, Ghanshyam Chhole Bhature, Balaji Chhole Bhature, Jai Bajrang Restaurant and Surya Dosa, among others in the Kothariya area.
The department inspected several food outlets at West Gate Complex, including Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, Amritsari Haveli, Pizza Galleria and Burgernomics, as well as establishments along the Maldhari Fatak-Sai Baba Circle stretch and other parts of Rajkot.
Separate checks were conducted at seven establishments dealing in analogue dairy products, including Tirth Marketing, Balaji Marketing, Om Food Products, Shiv Shakti Agency, Dariyalal Trading, Patel Agency and Heritage Marketing.
The civic body also highlighted a court conviction arising from a red chilli powder sample collected in 2017. The sample was declared unsafe and substandard after prohibited colour and non-permitted oil were detected.
The Municipal Court sentenced proprietor Manharlal Dayalal Sata to one month’s simple imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine for the unsafe food offence, with an additional month’s imprisonment if the fine was not paid.
A further total fine of Rs 1.5 lakh was ordered for the substandard food and related violations.
–IANS
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