Nearly one-fourth of the food samples tested in two months in Kerala found unsafe or misbranded

The Department slapped a total penalty of about ₹76.7 lakh on food business operators for violations of the food safety norms in December 2022 and January 2023

Neary 24% of the total statutory samples taken by the Food Safety Department across the State in December 2022 and January 2023 were found to be either unsafe or substandard, or misbranded.

The Department slapped a total penalty of about ₹76.7 lakh on food business operators for violations of the food safety norms in this period. The enforcement drive witnessed a momentum following a spike in incidents of food poisoning reported on the occasion of Christmas and New Year.

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Of the 575 statutory samples taken in December, 147 were found either unsafe or substandard or misbranded. Of the total 575 samples, 59 were found unsafe for consumption; 13 substandard; and 75 misbranded. In January, 138 of the 634 samples taken by the Food Safety officers in the 14 districts were found to be either unsafe, substandard or misbranded, according to official records.

Of the 16,448 establishments inspected in December and January, 1,758 were issued notices. Compounding notices were issued to 989 food business operators in December while the corresponding figure in January was 797. Of the total penalty of ₹76.7 lakh collected in the two months, ₹56.79 lakh was collected in December while ₹19.91 lakh was compounded in January.

The inspections of outlets involved in various food businesses went up in January compared to December. In December, the officials inspected about 8,145 establishments while the number of units inspected in January was 8, 303.

The worsening food safety scenario also resulted in an increase in number of cases filed against violators in December and January. Prosecution cases were filed against 79 violators while the total number of adjudication cases in this period was 104.