DEHRADUN: Meat traders, dhabas, hotels and restaurants in Uttarakhand will now have to specify if the non-vegetarian items being sold are Halal or Jhatka.
Health certificates for workers will be mandatory and staff will have to wear face masks, gloves, head caps and photo identity cards. Smoking, spitting and habits like scratching of nose or other body parts at workplace will be banned.
The directives were part of a standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the state health and food safety department for all kinds of eateries, including the ones on the roadside.
This comes following chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's repeated statements against food and tea vendors spitting on eatables.
The SOP also stated that guilty persons will have to pay a penalty ranging from ₹25,000 to ₹1 lakh.
Further, CCTV cameras will also have to be installed in the kitchens that can be examined by the officials concerned.
The state police headquarters has already announced that local intelligence unit (LIU) personnel will keep an eye on tea stalls, open eating joints, hotels and restaurants in the state.
Earlier, health minister Dhan Singh Rawat instructed the officials that safety and purity of the food must be top of priority. He warned that intentional addition of impurity or spitting in food will not be tolerated.
Health secretary and food commissioner Dr R. Rajesh Kumar said, "Complaints of adulteration of juices and other food items with human waste and other dirty things have come to light from different parts of the state violating the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It is mandatory for food business owners to have licence and abide by the law complying with the hygiene and cleanliness parameters."
Kumar warned food businessmen from employing sick persons in their establishments and their medical certification will be mandatory.
