Officials of the Food Safety department and the health wing of the Kozhikode Corporation on Thursday destroyed 35 litres of glacial acetic acid, which is the undiluted form of the acid, stored in an unauthorised way at 17 shops on the Kozhikode beach.
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They also destroyed 17 blocks of ice. Twelve shops that were found to have violated food safety rules were temporarily closed. Eight others were served compounding notices to pay fines. Though 18 samples were examined, no traces of mineral acid were found.
This follows two students from Thrikkarippur in Kasaragod sustaining burns on Tuesday after they mistakenly drank acetic acid from a roadside eatery at the Varakkal beach in Kozhikode city. The Food Safety department on Wednesday claimed that glacial acetic acid was found to have been stored in water cans in many roadside eateries in the area. Tests held at the Regional Analytical Laboratory on the samples collected from there had not shown the presence of other mineral acids or chemicals. Vinegar solution was used to keep salted fruits and vegetables.
The Food Safety Assistant Commissioner later said that only synthetic vinegar should be used to keep them and glacial acetic acid should not be directly mixed with food stuff. The department is also planning to train roadside vendors on safety measures in the coming days.