Special squads of the Food Safety Commissioner conducted
widespread inspection of tanker lorries distributing drinking water in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, and Ernakulam districts on Tuesday and
detected a lot of irregularities in the quality and safety of the
drinking water supplied, besides violation of the food safety norms.
The
Food Safety wing carried out the inspections following reports that the
guidelines issued in January by the Food Safety Commissioner regarding
the quality of water and the manner in which it should be transported
were being observed more in the breech.
In the
inspections conducted in urban and suburban areas in Thiruvananthapuram
district, food safety officials issued strict instructions to the
Executive Engineer, Kerala Water Authority, that drinking water be
supplied only to those tanker lorries that have food safety licence and
that adhere strictly to the norms.
Water samples were
collected from ten tanker lorries and sent to the Government Analysis
Laboratory for testing. Notice was issued to those tanker lorry owners
found violating the food safety norms. Inspections were carried out to
test water quality at the SUT Hospital canteen and the Nathan hotel at
Peroorkada and the latter was issued notice under the Food Safety Act.
In Ernakulam district, five tanker lorries were served notice for not
possessing the Food Business Operator (FBO) licence and the water
samples from these lorries were sent to the Ernakulam regional analytic
lab for testing.
Water samples from three drinking
water sources were collected and sent for testing. Food Safety
Commissioner Biju Prabhakar said that as a first-time exercise, only the
notice was being issued to those violating the food safety norms. In
the next phase of inspections, steps will be taken for legal prosecution
of the offenders, including imposition of fine. The tanker lorries will
also be seized. The public can complain to the Food Safety toll-free
line (1800 425 1125)Source:http://www.thehindu.com
No comments:
Post a Comment