Karnataka's Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has urged the public to remain vigilant about food safety and avoid being misled by visually appealing but potentially harmful dishes. Addressing the media on Monday, Rao highlighted the need for consumers to prioritise quality over appearance. This appeal comes especially in the wake of recent food safety concerns involving the use of banned synthetic colouring. The minister cited the recent testing of food samples from the Empire Group of Restaurants. Six items were deemed unsafe after testing since they were found to contain synthetic colouring.
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About The Food Safety Violations At Bengaluru's Empire Restaurant
Empire, a famous restaurant chain in Bengaluru, made headlines when a lab report revealed that some of its food items were unsafe for human consumption. The results dated July 11 from the State Food Laboratory, Public Health Institute, pertained to chicken kebabs served at its Gandhinagar outlet. A food safety officer had collected two kilos of chicken kebab samples from the establishment on June 27. It was discovered that they did not meet the required food safety standards. After a notice was issued to the restaurant, Empire said that they stopped using food colouring in their kebabs.
The restaurant later released a detailed public statement about the same. It clarified, "Recently, the FSSAI flagged the use of a synthetic colour (Sunset Yellow FCF) in our kebab marinade. While this colour is an FSSAI-licensed, commercially available product that has previously seen widespread use across the industry, we were served a notice and we fully complied. Its use has now been completely discontinued." The restaurant added, "We have now given our signature dishes a fresh, natural look-the same Empire taste and the same quality, with zero compromise." Read the complete statement below:
Food Safety As A Public Responsibility
During his media address, in which he referenced the above incident, Dinesh Gundu Rao also emphasised that ensuring food quality is a shared responsibility. He noted that better quality food and drugs can become the norm only if people insist on quality goods, as per PTI. "The government needs to do its part and tackle this legally, but people, too, should cultivate quality consciousness as culture," he said. As part of broader food safety initiatives, the minister said that the health department also held a virtual meeting with cooking oil manufacturers to enforce trans-fat limits. It was declared that oils exceeding the 2% trans-fat threshold would invite strong regulatory action.
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