Declaration of halal or jhatka certification of meat made mandatory
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 17 Nov: Taking serious note of the recent incidents where certain restaurant workers were video recorded spitting in the food before serving it to customers, the Pushkar Singh Dhami Government late last night issued strict guidelines and SOPs intended to curb such incidents.
The government has also made it mandatory for the restaurant and food vendors to declare whether the meat items being served are Jhatka or Halal meat.
The State Food Safety and Drug Administration has issued a detailed SOP, which also has provisions of financial penalties ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh for the violation of the SOPs.
The SOPs and the guidelines have been issued under the signature of Secretary, Food and Commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) Department, Dr R Rajesh Kumar.
Dr Kumar said that the guidelines are being issued in view of several cases coming to the fore of contamination with waste in beverages and other food items in many areas of the state in violation of the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. He has made it clear that all food businesses will have to comply with the standards and conditions laid down in the Act.
Dr Kumar has stated that it will be mandatory to follow the norms related to hygiene and cleanliness in food and beverages and there is also a provision to take action against those violating the Act.
The SOPs intend to ensure strict compliance of food safety and hygiene standards by the hotels, restaurants, dhabas, canteens, food vending agencies, food stalls and even street food vendors operating in the state in order to ensure availability of hygienic food.
It may also be recalled that, yesterday, SSP, Dehradun, Ajai Singh led a campaign in Patel Nagar Police area where many eateries including restaurants were inspected to check compliance with the norms regarding hygiene. During the inspection, many business owners were issued warnings.
According to the SOPs issued by FSDA, workers in food establishments like dhabas or restaurants will have to compulsorily use face masks/gloves/head gear while preparing or serving food. While handling food items, workers have also been strictly directed to avoid smoking, spitting, scratching the nose or other body parts or running hands through hair to prevent bacterial infection.
In addition, it has been made clear that persons suffering from infectious diseases should not be recruited at food manufacturing/storage/distribution sites under any circumstances. It has been reminded under the SOP that there is already an existing provision under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, to provide the list of personnel working in the food establishment along with medical certificate. To ensure strict compliance in this regard, it has been reiterated in the SOP that it will be mandatory for all licensees or registration holders to display the list of all their workers along with their medical certificates at the workplace/establishment.
Besides this, under the SOP issued last evening, workers are clearly prohibited from spitting or spreading dirt at the workplace. It has been warned that anyone violating these provisions, will be penalised with fines ranging between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1 lakh under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.
The SOP further stated that no food produced or prepared will be contaminated by faeces, urine, spit or any other substance. This is perhaps for the first time that contamination of such type has been clearly mentioned under the SOPs. The SOP also mandates that every food businessperson will have to paste a readable copy of the licence at a prominent place in his or her establishment.
This apart, every food business owner will have to mandatorily keep a separate daily record of production, use of raw material and sale. All food businesses have to obtain a licence and get themselves registered. The SOP further mandates that CCTVs will have to be installed at all food establishments, dhabas, hotels, restaurants and eateries.
Importantly, the SOP also states that, in compliance with the letter of National Minority Commission dated December 26, 2022, every meat seller, hotel and restaurant will have to mandatorily state the type of meat product being sold (whether Halal or Jhatka).
