3,881 flash raids carried out across Kerala. So, was food consumed during Onam safe?

Health Minister Veena George said on Thursday that 3,881 inspections were carried out across Kerala and along the borders by the Food Safety Department to assess the quality and safety of food items sold during Onam season. This Onam drive has resulted in the shut down of 108 outlets where grave issues were uncovered.

The minister said that in addition to closing down outlets, the food safety squads had issued rectification notices to 476 outlets and compounding notices to another 385. Apart from these, 752 surveillance and 135 statutory samples were also collected for follow-up scrutiny. "Action would be taken on the basis of the results thrown up by the tests," the minister said.

The food safety squads, 231 of them, conducted flash raids in the production and distribution outlets of items that are consumed in huge quantities during Onam, especially milk, edible oils, 'pappadam', 'payasam' mix, jaggery, ghee, dal varieties, various kinds of chips, vegetables, tea powder, fruits, fish and meat. In addition, raids were also conducted in restaurants, hotels, bakeries, catering units, wayside eateries, and also at check posts.

Checkposts were subjected to intense scrutiny to ensure the quality of items like milk, oils and vegetables that came from other states in a big way during the Onam season. The surveillance of checkposts were carried out by 40 food safety squads and were held 24x7 between September 10 and 14. These squads were posted at Kumily in Idukki, Meenakshipuram and Walayar in Palakkad, Aryankavu in Kollam, and Parassla in Thiruvananthapuram.

All vehicles that crossed these border points with food supplies were subjected to thorough checks. Nearly 700 such inspections were carried out in three days. 751 surveillance samples of milk and milk products were collected for continued scrutiny. Samples of edible oils, vegetables, fruits, fish and meat that cm across the borders were also collected for further testing.

The food safety squads were assisted by mobile food testing labs.