Twenty-eight Kolkata eateries and food establishments whose licences were suspended during a municipal food-safety drive have reopened after compliance inspections by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), while more than 30 others are yet to apply for permission to resume operations.
The establishments were shut during a special inspection campaign conducted between September 1 and September 7. KMC food-safety inspectors later found that the 28 establishments that applied for reopening had made the required changes following the initial inspections. Their suspension notices were subsequently revoked, allowing them to restart operations.
KMC officials said several of the establishments that received permission to reopen were sweetshops. The inspections and reopening process come ahead of Durga Puja, when eateries and sweetshops in Kolkata typically see increased business during the festival period, the days leading up to it and the days immediately afterwards.
“Only twenty-eight establishments had applied for reopening. The rest of the establishments are yet to apply. Many of those, who have received the nod to operate, are sweetshops,” a KMC official said.
Officials said the civic body had expected all establishments whose licences were suspended to apply for fresh inspections. However, many have not yet submitted applications. The KMC has not indicated in the supplied report whether those establishments will be allowed to reopen without completing the compliance process.
The BL Saha Road factory of Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick was among the establishments shut during the special drive. The factory has since resumed operations after completing the process, officials said.
The enforcement campaign has also moved beyond licence suspensions. KMC officials are issuing notices to establishments whose food samples were found to fall short of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India requirements. The notices include laboratory reports detailing the findings from samples collected during inspections.
Under the procedure described by KMC, establishments have one month to contest the laboratory findings. If they do not challenge the results within the stipulated period, they will be summoned for adjudication and informed of the penalty payable, according to a civic official.
Establishments that dispute the test results will be given one of the preserved samples collected during the inspection. That sample may then be tested at any laboratory accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, the official said.
The reopening of 28 establishments establishes that compliance inspections can lead to the withdrawal of suspension notices, but the status of the remaining establishments remains pending. Their next step is to apply for inspection and demonstrate that the deficiencies identified during the first round have been addressed. The KMC’s notices and adjudication process will determine how the cases involving food samples found below prescribed standards proceed.
