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HYDERABAD: In a first, the Cantonment Board of Hyderabad (CBH) sealed eight high-selling eateries and sweet shops, including the famous Soghat-i-Shireen, in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
The raid, led by station commander Brig Shahid Mehmood who is also president of the CBH, did not even spare the eateries built inside the Garrison Complex, which belongs to the armed forces. "It has been decided at the highest level that we will no longer let these shops sell unhealthy food and drinks to unsuspecting customers," said Kamran Khan, the CBH's food inspector.
The sealed outlets include Soghat-i-Shireen, Energy Sweets, Eat n Take, Broast Town, Ice Berg, both branches of Mirchi 360 and the Panna Casata-owned bakery, pizza and Zouq Food shops. The action has been taken under the Pure Food Act, 1966.
Read: Not finger-licking good: Eateries sealed over rotten food
The CBH has summoned all the shop owners on August 26. The food inspector said they will be given a final warning before the permanent closure of their businesses. "During my stint of around two years, I have sent several notices repeatedly to each of these outlets but no one complied except for a few days following the issuance of the notices."
Khan felt sure that the action will yield long term results because the authorities have geared into action. "The cantonment law also allows us to arrest the violators," he said, referring to the Ice Berg shop from where expired tins of beverages were seized.
Read: Crackdown: Five food outlets sealed over poor hygiene
The outlets were sealed due to unhygienic kitchen conditions, lack of cleanliness, fly proofing, disposal of waste and storage facility, expired beverages, use of unfiltered water, presence of rodents and insects. None of the eateries could even produce the yearly medical checkup record of the food handlers or trade license.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 26th, 2015.
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