Rajkot: The Rajkot Municipal Corporation’s food department inspected 53 food establishments, including restaurants, hostels and canteens, during a surveillance drive against food adulteration and unhygienic practices.Officials destroyed 65kg of inedible and stale food items, served notices to 18 establishments for violations related to food storage, licences and hygiene, and collected Rs 17,000 in administrative charges. Three food samples were also collected under the Food Safety and Standards Act and sent to a laboratory for analysis.Samples of toned milk and strawberry fruit crush were collected from Hard Castle Restaurant Pvt Ltd, operating as McDonald’s, at Greenland Chowk. The establishment was also charged Rs 3,000.A sample of used palmolein oil was collected from Restaurant Brands Asia Ltd, operating as Burger King, at Crystal Mall on Kalawad Road, and a notice was issued.The civic team destroyed 20 kg of stale wheat flour at Leuva Patel Girls Hostel and 20 kg of expired popcorn packets at Phenol Institute. Both establishments were issued notices concerning licences and storage and fined Rs 1,000 each.At Vivanta Girls Hostel, officials destroyed 5 kg of rotten potatoes and collected a Rs 1,000 administrative charge. At Prem Caterers, which operates the canteen at Mahila College, around 20 kg of stale and inedible food was destroyed and a Rs 3,000 charge was collected.The food department also issued notices to several hostels and other food establishments for shortcomings related to hygiene, licensing and storage. The inspections covered areas including Kalawad Road, Morbi Road, Gondal Road, University Road, Kothariya Road and Nirmala Road.
