The Bombay High Court has strongly criticized the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration for giving a chit to the canteens at Mantralaya and Vidhan Bhavan. The court questioned the way food safety inspections were done. The court said that the FDA seemed to have acted quickly and did not do a proper check before saying the canteens met all food safety standards. (Hindustantimes.com)
These comments were made during the hearing of a case where people were worried about the hygiene and quality of food in government-run canteens. These canteens serve ministers, legislators, government workers and visitors. The person who filed the case said the inspection reports were not good enough and did not really look into the complaints about cleanliness, how food is handled and following the rules for safety.
During the court session the High Court asked how the FDA could say the canteens were safe without checking all parts of the kitchen the storage areas, how food is prepared and the overall cleanliness. The judges said that just writing a report that says everything is fine is not enough when it comes to health and food safety.
The court also said that government buildings should be examples of the cleanliness and food quality. It said that canteens in government offices should not be treated differently from restaurants or other food businesses, which all have to follow the rules in the Food Safety and Standards Act.
The FDA said that their officials went to both canteens and found no problems that needed fixing.. The High Court was not happy with that answer. It wanted openness about how the inspections were done. The judges asked if food samples had been tested properly and if all the hygiene rules had been checked before the report was written.
The court also said that people trust food safety agencies because of how they do their work. It said that these agencies must be fair and not show any favoritism especially when checking government places.
After the hearing the High Court told the FDA to give details about how they did the inspections and explain why they said the canteens met the rules. The case will come back after the FDA gives an answer.
This case has brought attention to food safety in public places in Maharashtra. The final result is not known yet. The High Court’s comments show how important it is to have strong checks and to be responsible when making sure that food is clean and safe, for workers, public leaders and visitors who use government buildings.
