Kolkata: As part of a food safety drive, Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials carried out surprise visits to several Park Street restaurants on Friday. After inspecting kitchens of some of the popular eateries, the KMC food inspectors found stock of meat and fish in some restaurants not fit for consumption and decided to seize these items. They also advised a section of restaurants to improve the quality of edible oil and other ingredients.“Besides some stock of meat and fish that were kept in the freezer without labelling, we didn’t find anything that can be termed as very serious as far as public health is concerned. We have advised some restaurant owners to take care of the quality of edible oil and spices,” said a KMC official who was part of the drive. The KMC food inspectors will keep tabs on the restaurants that need improvement, said the civic official.Among the big names that were visited by KMC teams on Friday were Peter Cat, Mocambo, Oasis, Kareem’s and Arsalan in Park Street and its neighbouring areas.Nitin Kothari, owner of Peter Cat and Mocambo, said: “The inspectors first came to Peter Cat and spent about 45 minutes. They inspected the kitchen, the storage facilities and other hygiene-related aspects. They seemed satisfied with our facilities and did not raise any specific issue. Later, they also visited Mocambo for around 15 minutes. It was a shorter exercise but they checked our food and kitchen. We have always maintained high standards and immaculate hygiene in preparing our food. So, everything was in order. I don’t think anyone will have any cause for complaint.”Sudesh Poddar, president of Hotel & Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI), stated: “I support the govt initiative to have surveillance on restaurants and hotels. They should cook food maintaining hygiene as per FSSAI norms so that no customer faces any health hazard.”During the inspection, the officials stated that the tag was missing on some food items. “We have discarded those items because the tag containing the date of expiry was not present,” said an inspector.A similar inspection was also carried out in the Kamalgazi and Sonarpur areas where a sweet shop and a restaurant came under the inspectors’ scanner for “violating” food safety and fire safety norms. A sweet shop at Kamalgazi was found operating without a valid licence. “Mosquitoes and flies were spotted at the kitchen where workers were manufacturing sweet. The shop’s licence was not valid. In another restaurant at Sonarpur, we found that there was no fire safety protocol, and it was using expired ingredients to cook food. Besides, its licence also became invalid and needs renewal,” said an inspector.An inspector of the drive in the Sonarpur and Kamalgazi areas said: “In one of the restaurants, we found stale meat was being used to prepare food. We have checked whether these establishments maintain hygiene and prepare food with fresh ingredients.”
