Hooghly, 02 September (H.S.): Officials of the Hooghly District Food Department conducted surprise inspections at several restaurants and sweet shops across the Arambagh subdivision on Wednesday. The inspections triggered concern among local food business operators.

The drive was conducted to assess the quality of food, compliance with hygiene standards and food storage practices. Officials inspected kitchens, raw materials, ingredients used in making sweets and the methods followed for storing food items at various establishments.

They also checked the expiry dates of food products and relevant licence documents maintained by the establishments. Food samples were reportedly collected from some shops during the operation and will be sent for laboratory testing.

According to the Food Department, legal action will be taken against the concerned businesses if any irregularities are detected during the inspection or testing process.

Officials also instructed shop owners to maintain proper cleanliness, prepare food in hygienic conditions and refrain from using substandard or adulterated ingredients.

The department said such inspections and enforcement drives will continue in the coming days with the health and safety of consumers in mind.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey