Food Safety Checks To Widen Beyond Hotels, Restaurants: Khader
Speaking to reporters at the Circuit House in Mangaluru, Khader said QR codes would be displayed at food establishments and public places to make it easier for people to report complaints about food quality. Health advisories would also be displayed at suitable locations.
Mangaluru: Health and Family Welfare Minister UT Khader on Wednesday said the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department would widen its inspections beyond hotels and restaurants to include paying guest accommodations, as the government steps up measures to protect public health.
Speaking to reporters at the Circuit House in Mangaluru, Khader said QR codes would be displayed at food establishments and public places to make it easier for people to report complaints about food quality. Health advisories would also be displayed at suitable locations.
"Two inspections had already been carried out in Mangaluru based on complaints received through the recently introduced QR code system. The facility would now be made more accessible by displaying the codes at hotels, food outlets and other public places," he said.
Speaking to reporters at the Circuit House in Mangaluru, Khader said the department was already carrying out inspections at several places and warned that no violator would be spared.
“Food safety must be given priority. Even if someone close to me is found violating the rules, there is no question of sparing them. The people who consume the food are equally important, and we have to stand by them,” he said.
Khader said
He said the objective was not to close down businesses but to ensure that consumers were not cheated.
On complaints of adulteration in ration and other food items, the minister said action would be taken whenever specific complaints were received.
Khader also said the government was working on plans to establish a fully equipped laboratory for food quality testing.
Khader said that large companies caught during raids over the supply of substandard food often manage to get relief from courts by challenging the laboratory reports and claiming that the testing facilities were inadequate.
"To prevent this, the government would establish a fully equipped laboratory whose reports would be strong enough to withstand legal scrutiny, even before the Supreme Court," he added.