The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Food handlers’ licences for tea shops may be revoked

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 26, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Food handlers’ licences for tea shops may be revoked

Staff Reporter

Maintain dustbins, segregate garbage at source to ensure cleanliness: Mayor

Photo: V. Ganesan

Honour: Chennai Metropolitan Tea Shop Owners Association secretary T. Anandan (left) and president V.C. Damodaran hand over a memento to Mayor M. Subramanian at the anniversary celebrations of the association in Chennai on Sunday. —

CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation will review, and possibly revoke, the food handlers’ licences for tea shops, Mayor M. Subramanian told a programme organised by the Chennai Metropolitan Tea Shop Owners’ Association here on Sunday evening.

“Every tea shop owner has to spend Rs.500 for the licence for each worker, who sometimes moves to other establishments, leading to a drain on resources,” association president V. C. Damodaran said at the 26th anniversary celebrations of the body. The Mayor pointed out that the measure was a pioneering initiative to ensure that standards of hygiene were maintained at eateries and that several hotels had welcomed the scheme. However, it was likely to tax tea shops with limited capital, he conceded and announced that it would be reviewed and, possibly, revoked.

Mr. Subramanian said that Chennai was judged the second cleanest city after Chandigarh in an assessment of cities in the country. He urged the association to ensure that the city remained clean by maintaining dustbins and segregate garbage at source.

Adulteration of tea to improve colour was condemned by several speakers at the function.

Civil Supplies Commissioner K. Rajaraman said that simple tests could be used to check if tea powder was adulterated. Some of the powder could be put into cold water; if colour seeped into water, the tea was adulterated. The dyes used for such adulteration caused diseases, including asthma, thyroid tumours and cancer.

Unlicensed tea shops were responsible for the use of adulterated tea, posing a great risk to the health of consumers, Mr. Damodaran said, urging the Chennai Corporation to undertake a drive against the unlicensed shops.

The total number of unlicensed establishments is estimated to be 3,000, Mr. Subramanian said. Regularisation of these vendors would help drastically bring down adulteration, which was why the local body had simplified the procedure for granting trade licences. Responding to complaints from the association that members were being penalised for using domestic gas cylinders during emergencies, Mr. Rajaraman said gas agencies should be held responsible for supply of inappropriate cylinders.

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