In a most appreciative steps against adulterated and contaminated food items served in different restaurants and sweet shops in different locations of Agartala, the enforcement team of SDM (Sadar) along with officials of health and food safety commission, Legal Metrology and Health department launched a special drive against adulterated and contaminated food on Friday in GB Bazar area of Agartala, who are becoming a threat for most concerning issues of hygienic and health safety.

The team led by a DCM of SDM(Sadar) first raided many restaurants and sweet shops in GB Bazar area and the team during their long inspection after food testing, found contaminated storage of cooked foods and fungal food stored in these restaurants and sweets shops.

The team collected samples of all cooked food items, edible oil, different kinds of species, salts and water, which is being used for cooking purposes and for drinking.

Later, the team  has also conducted their raid at few grocery and fruit shops in the same market, where they found many discrepancies in terms of quality, weighing and uses of single used plastic bags

After monitoring the adulteration and contamination of foods items along with most non-hygienic condition of cooking areas, the team  issued notices in the kitchen rooms of few restaurants and hotels in the market area  and has also  suspended  selling and distribution of food items till findings of food samples collected from restaurants, hotels  and warned the owners to restrain themselves to stop servicing foods from these restaurants, hotels till the proper arrangements and clearance from Food Safety  Authority.

 “We asked the Food Safety Commissioner to check the adulteration of foods and after finding reports of all collected samples, the department will take all legal steps as per food safety act”, said Food Safety officer, Pradip Bhowmik.

Bhowmik said that the raids will continue and if necessary, other hotels and restaurants found to be serving or preserving contaminated food will also be closed down in coming days.

“It is totally unexpected that these restaurants are serving totally non-hygienic and contaminated foods to the people , which is very hazardous for their health,” said Bhowmik and added that the administration will continue their extensive raids to ensure the health and hygienic condition of the people.

However, Bhowmik added that they will carry out extensive raids on shops of food vendors in street corners across Agartala and all markets including MG Bazar and will continue their raids till the owners are not obeying the safety forms for food.

It may be recalled here that large number of restaurants, hotels and street food venders are opening their shops in every evening in every knock and corners of the city without any proper arrangement of hygienic conditions and often they served adulterated and contaminated food containing substances harmful to human health, causing gastroenteritis and food poisoning diseases.