Thiruvananthapuram: Grocery owner Sakkeer (name changed) warn his regular customers not to take milkshake from a ‘high-class’ restaurant close to his shop at Vazhuthacaud as he claims to have seen ‘kalakku paalu’ (adulterated milk) from other states being brought every week. A quick scan through the glass refrigerator of the restaurant reveals them flaunting packs of branded milk. The food safety officials say that many a time juice corners show lack of transparency regarding their stock of raw materials.
Food safety rules state that the name of suppliers, the quantity of raw materials and date of purchase of all products such as fruits, ice, nuts, essence and syrup should be maintained. “It might sound dubious when juice shops which sell up to 50 juices an hour claim they make ice with one small freezer that also stores ice cream and cut fruits. They sometimes claim not to take ice from outside,” say food safety officials.
Rules also say that the date when an ice was made should also be marked on the box. They should not be kept in thermocol boxes which is carcinogenic. Also, juice shop owners should ensure that the water used in the shops is checked at the nearest analytical lab and the acknowledgement should be kept at the shops.
Meanwhile, juice shop owners claim that most established shops follow basic quality requirements.“These days we use refrigerators that can give us good quality ice in no time. Also, all shops have invested in RO filters. This is not the case with roadside vendors who put up stalls at vantage points without making any investments,” said a Plamoodu-based juice shop owner.
