2 food units at Navelim shut for poor hygiene, lack of licences

Panaji: The directorate of food and drugs administration (FDA) shut down two food manufacturing units in Navelim for operating without following proper hygiene standards. One was a bakery, and the other was a chips-manufacturing unit.
The FDA directed both to stop operations. The bakery products were found to be manufactured in unhygienic conditions without proper washing facilities. The premises were not properly painted, and unwanted items were found. The food business operator could not produce sanitary cards for workers and a pest control certificate. The trays used for stocking food items and the flooring were found dirty.
At the chips manufacturing unit, no proper washing facilities and no exhaust fan were found, with cooking done on the footpath. The FDA found that all the food items were without label declarations. The operator was warned in the past and was operating without a licence; hence, the FBO was asked to stop manufacturing activities until the licence was obtained.
The FDA took all food items without labels, worth Rs 20,000, into custody for destruction. The FDA also shut down a restaurant in Margao market where the hygiene was poor.
The tiles were broken, the walls of the premises had turned black, the exhaust fan was not working, and the outside area was very dirty. The toilet was open in the premises, and the owner could not produce sanitary cards and pest control documents.