Kataka: The Kataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Friday raided several pani puri-making units in the city’s Bidanasi area ahead of the upcoming Bali Yatra and seized unhygienic food items, including stale ingredients, allegedly contaminated tamarind water and substandard edible oil, officials said.
During the inspection, civic body health officials reportedly found vendors preparing and storing tamarind water near drains. They also detected the use of low-quality edible oil that had been repeatedly used for frying pani puris.
The officials further found rotten boiled potatoes and other stale ingredients being used in the preparation of the popular street food. The storage areas were also found to be unhygienic, while some vendors were allegedly using artificial food colours.
The raid was conducted following reports of unhygienic food preparation and the alleged use of unauthorised food colours during the Kali Puja celebrations, a KMC health official said.
“We had received information that some vendors in this area were selling pani puri under unhygienic conditions and using food colours during Kali Puja. Taking this into consideration, we conducted the raid ahead of Bali Yatra. We identified around 20 locations where vendors were using low-quality oil and rotten boiled potatoes. Their personal hygiene was also found to be unsatisfactory,” the official said.
The health officials destroyed pani puris prepared under unhygienic conditions and seized food items deemed unfit for consumption.
The inspection drive is continuing, and further action will be taken against vendors found violating food safety and hygiene standards, officials said.
