Lone vehicle compels Ludhianas only 4 food officials to fix raids on different days

The district is divided into six zones and should ideally be provided at least 1-2 FSOs for each zone but presently, there are only four food safety officers for the entire district, with only one vehicle at their disposal. If one FSO is on inspection duty then the others have to wait for the vehicle to return back so they can report for their inspections. Keeping this in mind, all the four FSOs have fixed separate days for inspections, as they are unable to conduct field work on the same day.

Additionally, the food safety officials also have VIP duties. During VIP visits, a team from the Food Safety Wing must be present. This includes the District Health Officer, Food Safety Officer and a Class IV Employee. The food safety team uses the same vehicle to commute. So, during VIP visits, no raids or inspections can be carried out.

District Health Officer and Food Safety Wing In-charge Dr Ashish Chawla said, “For six zones, we have four FSOs who have additional duties as well. The officials are doing their best given our limited resources but we need more staff to help speed up the work.