Team Herald
MARGAO: It’s business as usual for the temporary eateries at the Colva Fair that were issued shutdown notices by the Food and Drug Administration on October 17. Despite the FDA instructions to shut down the premises, the owners of these eateries seemed to have realised that the FDA is nothing but a ‘toothless’ tiger.
A visit to these hotels on Sunday revealed unhygienic conditions. Food was left uncovered and even on the ground. The chefs had no toque. The source of water and the cleanliness of the storage tanks were questionable. The eateries owners justified these violations stating that they not serving locals but only the owners and staff of other stalls at the fair. According to them, the food in the permanent restaurants is expensive and they provide the migrant stall operators with cheap food.
Interestingly, the FDA’s clandestine attitude was evident that even after the raid there was no follow up. The FDA on October 17 had verbally instructed the police to maintain a vigil and prevent any stall, which was issued a notice to shut down, from selling food. However, the FDA did not issue any written order to the police. The police informed that they are helpless to take action since the FDA has not given them any written instructions.
Judith Almeida, a local, who had complained to the FDA following a suspected food poisoning case of a child, said that it appeared that the FDA was not interested in doing its duty.
“Why didn’t they confiscate the equipment on October 17? By not taking any strict action, the FDA has allowed the restaurants to operate. I even told FDA’s Patil that verbal orders to the police are not enough and that FDA must send a written complaint to the police to take action”, she said.
Judith called the FDA raid cosmetic and lacking any serious intent to protect the health of the people.
“This is not the fault of the FDA inspectors who visited the site. There is a serious lack of interest among the higher-ups in the FDA including its Director and the Health Minister”, she alleged.
