Kollam: Kollam district has become the first complete food safety district in the country, thanks to the efforts of the department of food safety. The announcement was made by Minister for Health K.K. Shylaja at a function held here on Monday. However, N.K. Premachandran MP has dubbed the claim as being “bogus”. But the department claims it has provided registrations and licences to almost all establishments involved in food production and supply chain in the district.
Registrations and licences have been distributed to some 30,000-odd entrepreneurs during a drive initiated recently. The establishments include bakeries, auditoriums, hospitals, schools, food donation centres, hostels, and institutions under the beverages corporation. The ice plants in the fisheries sector and cashew factories in the districts were also brought under food safety licensing. The department has convened as many as 29 registration-licensing melas across the district in the past two months to make the effort foolproof. As many as 9,500 new entrepreneurs in the district were also brought under the food safety norms.
Meanwhile, Mr Premachandran alleged, “Such an urgent move by the government to declare Kollam as complete food safe is a violation of the Food Safety Act and will cause serious health consequences to the public. The claim that all establishments were given registration is false. The department has not yet given licences to those who have applied.” The MP also said he gave a letter regarding his allegations to the government, demanding a “rethink” on the claim. Meanwhile, the authorities have not yet responded to the allegation.
