A mobile court on Wednesday fined the authorities of City Rajbari Restaurant Tk 600,000 for allegedly maintaining unhygienic conditions and violating food safety regulations at its outlet in the city’s 2 No. Gate area.
The mobile court, led by Masuma Akter Kona, assistant commissioner (land) and executive magistrate, conducted the drive at the restaurant in Nasirabad, Chattogram, officials said.
During the inspection, the team found live and dead cockroaches and other insects in areas where several food ingredients were stored and handled, including dalda, raisins, milk, morabba, edible oil, spices and dough used for making bread, according to the officials.
The inspection team also found damp floors, broken tiles and raw and cooked meat being stored together in a freezer.
Among other irregularities, the officials found used cooking oil being stored, expired morabba and the use of unauthorised ghee in food preparation, officials said.
The team also detected the use of kewra water in preparing biryani, which officials described as harmful to human health.
The restaurant was further found to have no updated trade licence, they said.
The mobile court imposed the Tk 600,000 fine under Sections 28 and 33 of the Safe Food Act, 2013. In default of payment, the accused were sentenced to three months’ simple imprisonment.
Officials and employees of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority’s metropolitan office in Chattogram, the designated food safety inspector of Chattogram City Corporation, and a team from Panchlaish Police Station of Chattogram Metropolitan Police assisted the mobile court during the operation.
Authorities said similar drives would continue in the public interest to ensure food safety and protect consumers from potentially hazardous food practices.
