The health wing of the Kochi Corporation in Kerala raided and sealed a canteen reportedly serving food on trains, including Vande Bharat, near Kadavanthra, after finding large quantities of stale food and its kitchen in unhygienic conditions on Wednesday (May 14, 2025).
The canteen operating in the Elamkulam division of the Kochi Corporation has been under the health wing’s scanner for a few months following public complaints and was served multiple notices before. It was found to be operating without the requisite licence issued by the Corporation.
The latest action followed a complaint by the residents of a colony in the vicinity of the canteen on Tuesday night. They complained of bad odour from a godown and the workers’ quarters in the canteen’s neighbourhood.
“We found nearly 50 kg of stale chicken, seemingly months old, in the godown. Those in charge of the canteen took it away after spraying disinfectant. I had requested the health inspector to take immediate action, following which the canteen was raided,” said Antony Painumthara, Elamkulam division councillor.
The health wing officials found printed food containers, suggesting that the canteen supplied food on trains. “We have sealed the canteen, and a report will be filed with the Corporation secretary. They will have to obtain the licence, set up facilities for treating wastewater and then file a fresh application with the secretary to open the canteen again,” said V.V. Suresh, senior public health inspector of the Corporation.
Reportedly, no authorised person of the canteen was around during the raid to receive the mahazar or other relevant documents.
The canteen had been served with notices in the past for operating without the requisite licence and wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater and food waste were being dumped into a nearby canal linked to the Punchathodu canal. It was also fined ₹10,000 for dumping waste into the canal about a month ago.
M.G. Aristotle, the United Democratic Front parliamentary party secretary, accused the Corporation of being apathetic in tackling a serious issue like food safety.
“A prime example of this is a mobile food lab, received more than a year ago under corporate social responsibility funds, lying idle,” he said.
Later in the day, UDF members staged a protest in front of the mobile food lab.
Published – May 14, 2025 12:02 pm IST
