Food safety officials of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) on Thursday raided at least three unlicensed bakery units at Shikharpur in the heart of the city and sealed them after noticing stale and old food items unfit for human consumption. “A compound fine of Rs 15,000 on each of the unit owners was imposed,” informed CMC Health Officer Satyabrat Mohapatra. He said finished bakery items and raw stuff worth over Rs two lakh were seized from the three units. Sources said the bakery units were running in the area for over three years now but had downed the shutters since the lockdown last year.
“After the lockdown was relaxed in August this year, the units began to operate,” Mohapatra said, adding that the CMC received several complaints from people about the quality of products prepared in the units. The unregistered units do not have any brand name for their products and the stuffs were sold in the open markets, particularly in rural areas in unhygienic plain polythene packets, the health officer informed, adding that samples from the units have been sent for quality testing.