Food safety norms do not apply for haleem

Next time you step out to have a plateful of haleem, you had better think twice. For, a majority of the outlets are not registered with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) notwithstanding the fact that it is mandatory. What more, the civic body itself hasn’t issued any food safety norms or guidelines for these outlets.

“We had asked all the roadside outlets and establishments with a turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh to complete registration by August 4 but most of them have not done the same. Also we have not set any food safety norms or guidelines as it is a festive affair,” said a GHMC official with the health and sanitation wing on condition of anonymity.

The medical wing of the corporation receives one complaint in 15 days on an average. “There is a definite need to create awareness among people as most of them don’t know that such roadside establishments need to be registered. The general public too don’t know that they can approach the corporation for their grievances,” said the official.

However, the GHMC authorities had conducted surprise raids at various establishments in the city in the last few days and found many were operating in un-hygienic conditions. They had also issued  show-cause notices to Pulla Reddy Sweets and Main Land China in Somajiguda.

When contacted, L Vandan Kumar, additional commissioner (health & sanitation) GHMC, said, “the raids will continue. But we don’t have information on how many establishments are actually registered.” The official felt the Food Safety Commissioner ought to be keeping tabs on these outlets. While the GHMC keeps count of such establishments through HMC (Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) Act, the Food Safety Commissioner is entitled to penalise establishments under the Food Safety Standards Act (FSSA).

For the officials, there’s also the problem of shortage of manpower. “We currently have five food safety officers (FSOs) for 18 circles of the GHMC. But in the erstwhile Muncipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) area, eight FSOs were sanctioned for seven circles. Going by that, we need 13 more FSOs and we had also submitted our representation to the government regarding this,” the official said.