Over half of city’s eateries lack food safety licence

A majority of the 5,200-odd eateries did not possess license and FSSAI registration

Over half of the food business operators in the city are outside the ambit of the food safety licensing regime, a survey conducted by the Commissionerate of Food Safety has found. Food safety officials found a majority of the 5,200-odd eateries in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation limits did not possess the license and registration mandated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) rules. The anomaly came to light during a survey undertaken in the city as part of the nationwide ‘Eat Right Challenge’ that is spearheaded by the FSSAI. The survey, which was conducted across the Thiruvananthapuram, Kazhakuttam, Vattiyurkavu and Nemom food safety circles through Kudumbashree workers, incorporated data collected from hotels, restaurants, bakeries, tea-stalls, wayside eateries (thattukadas), casual food business operators and vendors of fish and other products.