Central Railway (CR) stops sale of juices on its premises in Mumbai
After video goes viral, CR plans to check the quality of eatables being served
Taking note of a video of lemonade being prepared at their stall in unhygienic conditions, the Central Railway (CR) on Wednesday decided to stop the sale of juices on its premises.
There are 244 food stalls in the Mumbai division, which includes the suburban railway network.
The CR headquarters has asked its Mumbai, Bhusaval, Nagpur, Solapur and Pune divisions to withdraw the permission for sale of lemon, orange and kala khatta juices.
“Through a letter dated 13/05/2013, the sale of fresh lime juice was permitted through static unit and mobile units as local cuisine items. It has been noticed that the fresh lime juice is being prepared in extremely unhygienic conditions by the licensee staff, with no regard to the health of user public. In view of this, the competent authority has decided to withdraw
permission for the sale of lime juice,” states the letter.
As the video of the stall at Kurla railway station went viral, railway officials sealed the food stall and sent the remaining lemon juice for lab testing.
The stall owner will face action, once the lab reports are in.
“We have decided to discontinue sale of lime juice and other similar juices such as orange, kaala khatta, which are made of concentrated/synthetic syrup, from the CR mobile and static units. We care for our esteemed commuters who have always reposed faith on us and their concern is our concern,” said Sunil Udasi, chief public relation officer, CR.
The railways have also launched a drive by the commercial and medical department of CR’s catering unit on inspection of eatables and drinks that are served at the stalls.
The commercial and medical department teams will check if the stalls have a valid certificate issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), adequate hygiene on the premises, good quality raw material and clean storage of potable water for cooking.
