Bengaluru: The Food Safety Commissionerate officials raided more than 10 meat shops in HSR Layout on Wednesday and directed shopkeepers to follow hygiene norms or else face closure.
The officials said they conducted the raids based on 25 complaints filed by animal rights activists in September. The shops had violated food safety norms, and were found to be illegal and unhygienically selling meat, according to the authorities. “We have given them 15 days to respond to the notice, after which they will be closed,” said a local officer of the commissionerate, which found that the meat was exposed to dust and smoke spewed by vehicles.
Varda Mehrotra, director of the National Federation for Animal Protection, said any sort of action from authorities was a welcome step. The BBMP and the Food Safety Commissionerate have taken serious note of the complaints and we hope the lives of animals and human beings alike would become better with increased regulation of meat shops, he said in a press release.
