A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday observed that there should be continuous monitoring by the authorities concerned on the safety of food being sold in the State.
The Bench comprising Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Sophy Thomas made the oral observation while hearing a suo motu case registered in connection with the recent food poisoning incidents in Kasaragod.
The court said “prima facie, we believe that had the enforcement been more effective, the incident itself could have been averted, particularly because the Commissioner of Food Safety says the licence of the food outlet had been refused to be renewed and they were asked not to operate” The court said continuous monitoring and inspection with strict emphasis on enforcement of the food standards should be the norm. Constant monitoring and enforcement must be the rule. The court observed that it was only when the Commissioner of Food Safety discharged its imperative statutory obligation of enforcement and analytics leading to an effective ‘watch, guard and accountability’ could the State achieve a healthy life through safe food. In a statement, the Commissioner of Food Safety submitted that after the death of a girl, the department had constituted special food safety squads across the State for inspection and enforcement in all hostels, restaurants, bakeries, and other eateries to ensure the quality of food, including shawarma and chicken products.
As many as 500 inspections were conducted and 43 food business establishments were asked to close down for violating hygienic conditions and functioning without licence. The enforcement measures were in full swing. The court said that such actions “cannot be merely in response to such horrific incidents or a ‘Pavlovian’ response,” but should be a continuous process around the year because “prevention was certainly better than prosecution.”
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