After hotel raids, bakeries register 50% dip in sales

KOCHI: For the bakers in Kerala, these are definitely not the best of times. According to Bakers Association Kerala (Bake), even though the bakeries were generally kept outside the ambit of raids carried out at hotels and restaurants, bakers across the state recorded a 50% dip in sales.
Hitting out at the local bodies for being irresponsible and creating unhelpful publicity against well-organized food outlets, the association demanded that the state government should intervene in the issue.
Bake president P M Sankaran, told TOI on Sunday that the state government should introduce a system wherein officials conduct routine inspections to ensure safety of food served through various eateries.
"At present, there is no scientific system to check the quality of food. The local body officials lack technical knowledge regarding the equipment used in commercially operated kitchens," said Sankaran.
He pointed out that though the officers under the food safety commissioner conduct inspections in an organized and scientific manner, officials from the local bodies depend on outdated methods.
For the past six years, bakers have been demanding a system to check the quality of flour, milk and fruits sold in the market. The bakers also criticized the authorities for staying away from inspecting outlets operated by multinational companies.
Sankaran said people should be made aware of the method of using ingredients like ajinomoto and mayonnaise. "While mayonnaise has very short shelf life, overdose of ajinomoto can create unhealthy side effects. People who propagate the use of these products should warn people of its effects," he said.
They also put forward the demand for the need to ban food items like shawarma. Though the delicacy was introduced in bakeries, they later withdrew the product considering its short shelf life. "It does not last more than three hours in room temperature," he said.
For the bakers in Kerala, these are definitely not the best of the times. According to Bakers Association Kerala (Bake), even though the bakeries were generally kept outside the ambit of raids carried out at hotels and restaurants, the bakers across the state recorded a 50% dip in sales. Hitting out at the local bodies for being irresponsible and creating negative publicity against well-organised food outlets, the association demanded the state government to intervene in the issue.
After holding leaders meet of Bake on Sunday, association president, P M Sankaran told TOI that the state government should introduce a system where officials conduct routine inspections to ensure safety of food served through various eateries. "At present there is no scientific system to check the quality of food. The officials from the local body lack the technically knowledge regarding various equipment used in the commercially operated kitchens," he said.
There are about 2000 bakeries in the state. The association pointed that though the officers under the food safety commissioner were organised in conducting inspections, officials from the local bodies depend on out dated methods. For the last six years, the bakers have been demanding to come up with a system to check the quality of flours, milk and fruits sold in the markets.
The bakers criticized the authorities for staying away from inspecting outlets operated by multinational companies. Sankaran said that people should be made aware on the method of using ingredients like ajinomoto and mayonnaise. "While mayonnaise has very short shelf life, over dose of ajinomoto can create toxic side effects. People who propagate the use of these products should warn people of its side effects," he stated.
They also put forward for the need to ban food items like shawarma. Though the delicacy was introduced in bakeries, they later withdrew the product considering its short shelf life. It does not last more than three hours in room temperature.
Corp debate to focus on citizens’ right to safe food
City corporation will hold a debate on quality of food in hotels and launch a campaign on citizens’ right to safe food. The local body plans to bring food safety officers, representatives of hotel, restaurant and bakery associations, faculties from food craft institute, heads of various government departments — including health office bearers of food and vegetables promotion council, representatives of residents associations and officials from the civic body for a debate on Tuesday.
“Depending on the suggestions and opinions presented by these people, the local body will draft a project to ensure that quality food is served in eateries while they maintain hygienic conditions,” said health committee chairman T K Ashraf. The debate is necessary to understand the prevailing market conditions and the issues faced by hoteliers and fruits and vegetable vendors.
Despite the criticism that raids and inspections by local bodies adversely affect sales, the corporation maintained that they were concerned about people’s health. “Once the project is drafted, the corporation will launch the campaign. It will focus on general hygiene in eateries and also on the adverse effects of consuming substandard food,” he said. The debate will begin at the Ernakulam Town Hall at 10 am.