Patna, October 24 — Bihar's Food Safety Department has intensified inspections across the state and has so far inspected 531 food establishments under a special statewide campaign launched on the initiative of Health Minister Nishant Kumar to ensure safe, hygienic and quality food, IANS reported on Saturday. The department has suspended the licences of two establishments and initiated prosecution proceedings against 15 others for violations of food safety standards.
Source: IANS via hi INDiA
Patna recorded the highest number of inspections, with 87 establishments examined, covering hotels, restaurants, sweet shops, dairies, fast-food outlets, packaged drinking water units and online food retailers. The department warned that violations could attract imprisonment of up to three months and a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh — yaani, up to three lakh rupees — under the applicable provisions.
At Santosh Sweets in Vijay Nagar, Patna, officials seized 3,344 kg of milk cake and 112 kg of peda valued at approximately Rs 5.24 lakh. Action was also taken against 170 kg of foul-smelling sweets and paneer at Govardhan Sweets. Across Patna district, enforcement involved around 15,340 litres of packaged drinking water, 155 kg of gulab jamun and 96 kg of rasgulla, among other products.
Source: Nation Press
During inspections on October 21, officials said they found serious violations at outlets of Barbeque Nation, KFC and Pizza Hut in Patna. At Barbeque Nation on Buddha Marg, 30 kg of foul-smelling paneer and 4 kg of rice were seized and destroyed and the use of 15 kg of pre-packaged chicken was prohibited; at its Fraser Road outlet, insects were found in bread packets and 20 litres of used cooking oil were destroyed. At KFC on Boring Canal Road, the use of 835 plastic cups intended for industrial use was prohibited.
On October 22, officials seized and destroyed 40 litres of expired Amul milk at a Blinkit store, and at a 9-to-9 store in SK Nagar they seized and destroyed 120 litres of expired ghee, 49 kg each of whole wheat flour and refined flour, and 6 kg of spices. Inspections at hotels including Gargi Grand, Pataliputra Exotica, The Panase and Hotel Maurya found deficiencies in kitchen hygiene, food storage, staff health certificates and water quality testing, and the establishments were given 14 days to rectify the shortcomings.
Beyond Patna, inspections over the past three months covered 41 establishments in Rohtas, 40 in Saran, 37 in Gopalganj, 27 in Siwan, 26 in Gaya, 24 in Vaishali and 20 in Muzaffarpur. In Vaishali, 22,992 litres of packaged drinking water were seized from units operating without valid licences, and in Bidupur 328 kg of adulterated paneer worth Rs 85,280 was destroyed. In Hajipur, a hotel's licence was suspended after its kitchen was found unhygienic. The department said inspections will continue, with a particular focus on milk and dairy products, sweets, edible oils, spices, hotels, restaurants and online food businesses, and that newly appointed Food Safety Officers have been directed to upload action reports to the FoSCoS portal.
Source: Patna Press