Food regulator FSSAI on Thursday reportedly issued a notice to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) after it took suo motu cognizance of a video going viral on social media that allegedly showed railway catering staff washing utensils inside the toilet area of a moving train.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) described the act, if true, as objectionable as it could lead to food contamination, news agency PTI reported.
The video allegedly shows food plates and cutlery stored in bins next to the restroom area inside the 12223 Duronto Express H1 bus during lunch service. IRCTC staff were also allegedly seen handling the items in the footage shared on social media.
FSSAI has filed a notice with IRCTC citing a video on social media, where utensils were allegedly being washed inside train toilets, PTI reported citing a source.
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What is happening?
According to a video recorded by a passenger, the train was identified as 12223 LTT-ERS Duronto.
The video showed that the utensils were cleaned by catering staff or IRCTC contract workers.
HT was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video.
FSSAI has sought a response from IRCTC on the matter at the earliest.
The news agency quoted a source as saying: “Washing utensils in toilet areas pose serious risks of contamination, which is highly unacceptable from a food safety perspective.”
Under Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, food business operators are required to maintain hygienic processing, handling, washing and cleaning practices to prevent contamination of food and food contact surfaces.
Earlier this month, the FSSAI also sought clarification from express commerce firm Blinkit over consumer complaints regarding the sale of poor quality eggs on its platform, the report said.
Even then, the FSSAI took “suo-mo” consumer complaints posted on social media platforms.
