Telangana Health Minister Urges Hoteliers To Follow FSSAI Guidelines

 Hyderabad: Health minister Damodar C. Rajanarsimha on Monday urged hoteliers and members of associated industries to follow FSSAI guidelines and said the food safety commissioner would ensure firm implementation of the FSSAI Act and Regulations. He also directed the authorities to conduct state-wide workshops every six months to increase awareness and provide training to stakeholders.

He was speaking at a meeting featuring representatives from various associations of mangements of hotels, restaurants, dairy and food manufacturers, along with the commissioner of food safety, in the backdrop of highly-publicised raids on eateries and other food units.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, C.H. Venugopal, general secretary of the Telangana Hotels Association, said that they had requested the minister and the commissioner to not bring print and broadcast media to the restaurants and then publish the information regarding the raids therein as it tarnished the image of the establishments and hampered goodwill.

"We shared with them a letter, saying that they are welcome to bring their own cameras but to publish the name of the restaurant on social media and in print and broadcast media is objectionable. This creates a negative impact on the hotel industry and taints the image of the state as well,” Venugopal said. “Hyderabadi biryani is renowned in the world and after the raids, tourists have begun to see our food in a negative light."

"The associations have committed to extend their co-operation to the authorities in ensuring clean and healthy foodThey have also agreed to collaborate with the authorities in conducting awareness programmes, trainings and workshops," said the tweet from the commissioner of food safety.

The workshops will be focused on maintaining hygiene and cleanliness in the premises, storage, identifying the quality of raw materials, etc. One in 25 people from each FBO will be provided training in this respect free of cost by the state government.

Within a week, the commissioner's teams will launch an awareness programme for associated industry members.

Welcoming the proposal to create awareness and train staff, Venugopal asked the government to release clear guidelines.

Present at the meeting were representatives of seven organisations: Telangana Hotels Association, Telangana Bakery and Icecreams Association, National Restaurants Association, Indian Dairy Milk Products Association, Telangana Packaged Drinking Water Association, Telangana Flour Millers Association and Telangana Oil Millers Association