Garbage, rot, underwear in food areas
Dimapur, September 27 (MExN): In stark violation of the Essential Commodities Act and the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, a large number of bakeries in Dimapur are overlooking quality standards and cleanliness. A combined team of Dimapur district administration, police, Dimapur Municipal Council and department of Health & Family Welfare raided a number of bakeries in Dimapur today. What the team came across during the raid will make you cringe the next time you bite into a patty bought from one of these bakeries.
Right from the kitchen to the store rooms, even the most reputed bakeries in the city failed to meet the standard hygiene norms thus, posing threat to people’s health. Kitchen shelves have coats of oil and grime, underwear and clothing near food items, dirty garbage bins near cooking areas and dishes washed in dirty water stored in even filthier drums. The kitchens are dingy, dirty and smelly while the staffs work without wearing gloves or covering their heads.
In most of the bakeries, foodstuff is prepared in open areas, baked and stored in greasy dishes – and they appeared to not have been washed for ages. And off all things, pest control-measures are the last thing on the minds of bakery owners.
At Plaza, one of the most reputed bakeries in the city, cockroaches were seen crawling all over the dishes while garbage was piled up literally rotting inside the kitchen. The kitchen is being used by workers as their changing room and slippers were lying around. And much to the disgust of the raiding teams, a worker’s underwear was seen hanging right above the dough mixing machine! A drain, clogged with garbage, is passing also right through the kitchen giving out the foulest smell.
At Popular Bakery, about 500 packets of bread stacked up with ‘advance’ packaging dates were found. All items were seized and will be distributed to orphanages in Dimapur. The district administration has seized the license of Popular Bakery, Sheevam Bakery and Bothra Sweets. Plaza Bakery’s food license was confiscated. These bakeries will be given 10 to 15 days to clean up their mess after which another check will be carried out. “When Plaza and Popular bakery are in this condition…I cannot imagine the condition of the other bakeries,” an astonished DMC Advisor Vikholie Neinu said. Along with them, Breeze, Golden Palace and Universal Bakery were also checked by the combined team.
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