In what comes as a setback for Malayalam actor Dileep’s popular restaurant chain Dhe Puttu, the Kozhikode health department on Tuesday found the food in the restaurant’s Kozhikode branch to be stale and cooked in unhygienic conditions. This was discovered during a raid conducted by the health department in various restaurants in the district.
Dr RS Gopakumar, health officer of the Kozhikode Corporation, who was also part of the raid, tells TNM that the department found that the oil used for cooking was many days old and the chicken was rotten. Along with this, the department also discovered that ice creams in the restaurant were stored in unhygienic conditions, claimed the health inspector. The rotten items that were seized were later burnt by the health officials.
“The raid took place around 8 am and we saw that the restaurant was not at all clean. The main idea behind this particular raid was to check the cleanliness and hygiene in restaurants,” says Dr Gopakumar. However, he adds that the restaurant was comparatively cleaner when the health department had conducted a raid last year. “But this year, this restaurant has failed miserably.”
Even though Dhe Puttu is known as a restaurant chain owned by Dileep, Gopakumar clarifies that the actor only owns a share in the Kozhikode branch. “Dileep is a partner but this restaurant is run and operated by another person,” says Gopakumar.
The health inspector also emphasises that all restaurants which are found to be functioning in a way that causes serious health concerns to the general public will have to face serious consequences as per the Kerala Municipal Act of 1994.
The raid was conducted by a team led by Dr Gopakumar, Health Supervisor of the Kozhikode Corporation K Gopalan, Health Inspector K Dileep Kumar and Junior Health Inspector, K Shameer.