The Meghalaya High Court has today asked the Commissioner of Food and Safety Measures, Government of Meghalaya to follow all laid-down procedures and applicable guidelines and ensure that fresh samples of food items sold by roadside vendors are collected on a random basis with an element of surprise.
The court also said that such samples should be as broad-based and sent to a government laboratory, preferably in Assam. It also asked the government to submit the report of quality testing of such food samples to the court on or before the next date of hearing.
The division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Biswanath Somadder and Justice Hamarsan Sing Thangkhiew passed the order on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by senior lawyer S P Mahanta on the health safety of food items sold by roadside vendors in Shillong.
Expressing displeasure with the failure by the authorities to book those vendors violating the law while hawking their food products, the High Court said, “It is, therefore, apparent that not much has been done by the Commissioner of Food and Safety Measures, Government of Meghalaya or serious note of the court’s concern has been taken in order to ensure effective quality control in respect of edible products which are prepared and/or stored and sold, especially by the hawkers/street vendors.”
During the hearing, the government stated that some of the food samples were sent to Kolkata to be tested by a private laboratory.
However, the High Court said that it was not quite convinced with the bona fides of such action on the part of the Commissioner of Food and Safety Measures, Government of Meghalaya, to send samples of edible food and milk to a private laboratory situated in Kolkata even though it may be an accredited organisation.
“There are several government laboratories around Meghalaya and their services could have been easily availed of by the Commissioner of Food and Safety Measures, Government of Meghalaya, instead of sending samples all the way to Kolkata and that too, to a private laboratory. Random sampling is also required to be more broad-based and such samples should be obtained strictly with an element of surprise, while following all laid-down procedures and applicable guidelines. This is even more required since the quality and hygienic standard of the edible products including milk products which are available in the streets of Shillong and elsewhere in Meghalaya are bereft of any quality control, which is required to be stringently monitored by the Commissioner of Food and Safety Measures, Government of Meghalaya,” the High Court said.
