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Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. (Photo: PTI)
On September 12, a video went viral showing a young man spitting out rotis while preparing them at a restaurant in Saharanpur district.
Taking cognizance of incidents of defecation and mixing of urine in eateries in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday ordered that the name and address of employees, owners and managers should be legally displayed in all food establishments.
He also ordered that cooks and waiters should wear masks and gloves without making it mandatory to install CCTVs in hotels and restaurants. Addressing a high-level meeting here, Adityanath said the presence of human excrement in food is disgusting and ordered strict action against those who contaminate food with excrement or unclean substances, an official statement said.
On September 12, a video showing a young man spitting rotis while preparing them at a restaurant in Saharanpur district, went viral on social media, leading to the arrest of the restaurant’s owner.
Last week, a juice vendor was arrested in Ghaziabad district for allegedly serving fruit juices mixed with urine to customers. In June, two men were arrested by police in Noida for allegedly selling juice containing their saliva.
Due to these incidents, the chief minister has also given instructions for a thorough investigation, verification of all hotels, dhabas, restaurants, and related institutions in the state.
Instructions were also given to amend the laws as needed while ensuring the health safety of the general public.
Adiyanath said, “Dhabas, restaurants and eateries should be thoroughly investigated and policed ​​for every operation and appropriate amendments should be made in the Food Safety Act and Standards to ensure the purity and sanctity of food items.” According to the statement, it will now be mandatory to display the name and address of the operator, owner, manager etc. in food establishments.
“Now whether it is a cook or a waiter, they will have to wear masks and gloves and they will be forced to install CCTV in hotels/restaurants,” said the prime minister.
In this meeting, Adityanath said that in recent times, cases of contamination of food such as juice, pulses and roti have been mixed with human excrement, and dirty things have been seen in different places.
“Incidents like these are bad and have a negative impact on people’s lives. Such efforts cannot be accepted at all,” he said.
Concrete arrangements are needed to prevent such incidents in Uttar Pradesh, he said, adding that by conducting a serious campaign across the state, verification of all the workers working there including the operators of these food establishments should be done.
The chief minister said that this action should be completed immediately by a joint team of the Food Safety and Drug Administration, the police and the local authorities.
Earlier this year, the Uttar Pradesh government had mandated food stalls and fruit vendors on Kanwar Yatra streets to display the names of the shopkeepers. The government argued the order, which was criticized by a section of the population, was meant to encourage transparency and informed choices by Kanwariyas about the food they eat.
(This story was not edited by News18 staff and was published by the syndicated news agency – PTI)