FDA stops 14 food stalls at Mapusa zatra

PANAJI: Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in its special inspection drive on Wednesday at Bodgueshwar zatra in Mapusa, inspected 38 food stalls dealing and selling food items, and operations of 14 food stalls was stopped immediately.
FDA director Salim Veljee said food safety inspectors Rajaram Patil, Flavia de Souza, Sharadha Kuttikar, Shailesh Shenvi and Nelson Fernandes inspected the foods stalls at the zatra along with sanitary inspectors from the urban health centre, Mapusa for sanitation and cleanliness.
He said 14 food stalls were found to be preparing and serving food in filthy conditions. These food vendors were immediately told to stop their operations to avoid possible cases of food poisoning.
Twenty-four food stall owners were issued improvement notices for various observations such as leaving food items exposed during sale.
He said the FDA will continue surveillance of food stalls in the following days and create awareness among food vendors at the zatra.