The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has initiated field inspections of eateries in the city to ensure that food safety norms are being followed. This comes after complaints regarding the quality of food being served at several hotels, restaurants, and food centers in the city. The Food Safety department under GHMC has formed mobile teams of Food Safety Officers and Assistant Medical Officers of Health officials to inspect various hotels in the city, especially during the Ramzan festival.
Recently, The Hans India highlighted the issue that there were no food safety inspections taken by the Food Safety department officials of GHMC to check and monitor the functioning of eateries. Upon the publication of the report, and rising complaints about the quality of food served, the officials pulled up their socks and initiated field inspections across the city.
The GHMC has appealed to hoteliers and the management of all hotels to take precautionary measures and ensure certain specified standards in the preparation of food, maintaining hygiene, and strictly follow the guidelines issued by the GHMC to take all public safety measures. Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi held a meeting with Food safety department officials and instructed them that food items should be checked, and samples should be collected from all eateries, including street food stalls, hotels, and restaurants. She directed them to submit daily reports of the day-to-day inspections and samples taken by food safety officials.
Food Safety Officer Soumya Reddy said that officials tested the food items sold by the eateries, especially street vendors at the field level and made them aware of necessary instructions for maintaining quality and hygiene. The street vendors were instructed to prepare food items in a clean environment without adulteration in quality, not throw garbage on roads or in front of hotels, and segregate dry and wet waste separately for easy transportation to garbage stations.
Moreover, following the Ramzan festival, officers held an inspection in hotels, restaurants, and roadside Haleem vendors. The GHMC has appealed to hoteliers to follow norms as per the Food Safety Standards Act 2006. They were directed to maintain proper hygiene and take all precautionary measures while preparing Haleem and instructed not to install Haleem Bhattis on top floors of buildings.
In addition to ensuring special hygiene arrangements, owners of these hotels and restaurants will be urged to procure meat only through government-approved places to ensure that the meat consumed in hotels is good in quality and healthy. Overall, the GHMC is taking proactive steps to ensure that food safety norms are being followed, and citizens can enjoy hygienic and safe food.
