Udupi: The MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary while speaking to the media on Monday said that State Health Department and Food Safety and Standards Authority is in coma and health minister, U T Khadar has been vaguely speaking on the issue.

He added that in the year 2011 ‘The Food Safety Act’ was implemented here as per that, a committee was formed including a commissioner, a joint food safety commissioner and three deputy directors at the State level. However now everything is being handled by one single person, which shows State government’s ignorant attitude, he said.

There should be 226 food safety officials at taluk level out of which 174 posts are vacant. The 52 officials who are on duty are supposed to submit 10 samples a month, however the officers are not even sending single samples for testing into the laboratory and are busy in money making, he alleged.

He demanded UT Khadar  rectify the issues and further questioned, what is the reason for the delay?

The government has failed to punish the contaminating food manufacturers. There are three laboratories at Gulburga, Belgaum and Mysore, which works without the required number of staffs. Mostly the machinery are dysfunctional. The food safety office at K R Circle operating under Health department is also motionless. There are no bio-metrics at food safety offices. Government is answerable to all these things, he stressed.

He alleged that there are 25 chemists who work in Food Safety and Standards Authority laboratories earn salaries around Rs 75000 to Rs 90000 per month, all are paid without work, he noted.