A Patna food safety inspection found 160 defective pizza screens at two Domino’s outlets, while officials issued improvement notices to Domino’s and McDonald’s over hygiene and record-keeping violations during checks conducted on Saturday.
According to a health department press release, food safety officials destroyed 110 defective pizza screens at the Domino’s outlet in Lohiya Nagar, Kankarbagh, and another 50 at the chain’s outlet in Kadamkuan. The screens, which are flat metal mesh discs used to bake and handle pizzas, were declared unfit and destroyed under Section 38(4) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The inspections also identified poor cleanliness in drainage systems, chopping boards and shelves at the Domino’s outlets. Officials found that deep-freezer temperature logs and raw-material records had not been maintained properly. Waterlogging, inadequately cleaned sauce bottles and incomplete pest-control records were also recorded, the department said.
The outlets were directed to maintain separate storage for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. Domino’s received a 14-day improvement notice to address the deficiencies.
At a McDonald’s outlet near East Gandhi Maidan, officials found an uncovered dustbin, the absence of an antiseptic doormat at the entrance and missing allergen warnings on the menu, according to the official communique. A mustard sauce sample was collected for testing.
McDonald’s was also issued a 14-day improvement notice and asked to rectify hygiene-related deficiencies within seven days. The notices require the establishments to address the violations identified during the inspections and comply with food safety requirements.
Officials warned that failure to comply could result in the suspension or cancellation of the establishments’ licences. The inspections were conducted on the directions of food safety commissioner Kumar Ravi as part of enforcement of food safety standards and hygienic food handling practices in the city.
