The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (UP FSDA) on Thursday said it had ordered the closure of a railway catering base kitchen in Lucknow after finding rodents and severely unhygienic conditions, while officials seized 978 kg of unlabeled rice crumbs from a catering establishment in Kanpur during a statewide crackdown.
The department initiated proceedings to cancel the food registration of an establishment in Saharanpur after finding food items being prepared and stored in unhygienic conditions. Inspections at catering units supplying food at Lucknow and Varanasi airports found employees without masks and shoe covers, missing records and labelling deficiencies. Improvement notices were issued to the units concerned.
In Kanpur Nagar, officials seized 978 kg of rice crumbs stored without labels or manufacturing and use-by dates. Officials also collected 26 statutory food samples for laboratory testing.
The material was left in the custody of the food business operator, according to the department’s release. UP FSDA commissioner Roshan Jacob said the drive focused on hygiene, food storage, water quality, pest control, employee practices and food-grade packaging.
