Presence of coliform bacteria was found to be high in the water samples collected from 11 ice factories operating within the city corporation limits.
As many juice parlours and hotels were found to be using the ice blocks from these plants, District Collector U.V. Jose has recommended action against these units. The water being used by these plants should be decontaminated and sent for laboratory tests. They should be allowed to resume operations only after the Food Safety Department certifies that the water is fit for consumption.
The health section of the city corporation and the district food safety officials had inspected 28 ice factories and collected water samples some time ago. They were sent to the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) for microbiological analysis.
The corporation Health Officer and the Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety, submitted a report to the district administration incorporating the findings of the report from the CWRDM. The District Collector’s decision is based on this report, which also said that the ice from those plants were not even fit for preserving fish.
