Thiruvananthapuram: The Commissionerate of Food Safety of the Kerala Government has geared up to promote hygiene at public eateries and also to ensure food safety. A slew of measures calling for heightened vigil and public feedback is being initiated following a series of food poisoning cases in the recent times.
A mobile application that grades hotels and restaurants in Kerala based on hygiene and other aspects is all set to be launched next week. About 800 hotels have already signed up for the online initiative. Based on the level of excellence, the hotels would be graded as green, yellow and orange.
Hygiene, up-to-date medical checkups for employees, scientific storage systems to store food items, and timely water and food tests would all be considered for the grading.
Food Safety Commissionerate is also set to begin a portal for the public to register their complaints.
The public can upload complaints on unhygienic practices in the hotels, problems related to food served and all such related issues with photographs, on the portal. These would be considered formal complaints and actions would be initiated accordingly.
Other measures
Hereafter, the licence of the Food Safety Commissionerate is mandatory for those who cook on a large scale at auditoriums during events, said Minister Veena George. Catering institutions must also have a valid licence. The water at auditoriums would be tested every now and then.
A ban has been effected on preparing mayonnaise using raw eggs. The hotels have assured that vegetable mayonnaise or mayonnaise made of pasteurised eggs would only be used, the Minister added.
A sticker would be used on food parcels (takeaway) mentioning the time of packing and the time within which it should be consumed. A health card has been made mandatory for employees at hotels and restaurants. One person should be engaged as a supervisor to ensure hygiene.
