Guwahati: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked one of the canteens on the Gauhati University campus to close down its kitchen following a raid on Saturday.
"We carried out a sudden inspection after receiving complaints from the GU authorities a few days back. We visited only one canteen as it was a holidayin the university," said Tarun Das, a senior food safety officer of Kamrup district.
"We found that the canteens were closed, except one near the main gate. We entered its kitchen which was not hygienic at all. We brought a food sample," Anil Sarma, a senior FSSAI officer, said.
Sarma said the canteen owner was told to close the kitchen on Saturday. "We will give a written direction on Monday to close the kitchen immediately and work for its improvement," he said.
"The canteen owner has to improve the kitchen within 10 days of the notice sent to him. We, however, cannot say anything till we get the result of its food samples sent for laboratory test," Das said.
"The canteen we visited has neither a food licence nor a trade licence which is provided by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation. We cannot penalise them directly on the first visit, but they have to bear the penalty if we file a case."
The owner of another canteen on the university campus said: "We have been directed by the university authorities earlier to obtain food licence, but we did not do that as it would have cost us around Rs 10,000. Maintaining cleanliness in the canteens is our duty and one must keep that in mind."
The food safety officers will visit the university on Monday for inspection of other canteens on the campus.
"We had issued a circular for acquiring food licences of the GU canteens under the FSSAI six months back. If some fail to apply for any reason, we are least bothered about them," the estate officer of the university, Rajeswar Goswami, said.
"There are five major GU canteens that have licences. Other than these, many small canteens have sprouted which are not authorised by the university. We have allowed them to operate for the convenience of students and teachers in the remote areas on the university's campus," Goswami, who is a member of the university canteen committee, said.