A passenger aboard a Vande Bharat train noticed a dead insect inside the rice and dal dish served to them and flagged the issue to Indian Railway And Tourism Corp. The firm said that it took action against the vendor and apologised for the poor food quality.
The user took photos of the compromised food and posted it on social media platform X, saying that two such instances were found on board the user coach which was going to Mumbai from Ahmedabad.
They identified the vendor as M/S Brandavan Food Products (part of RK Group) and tagged the X accounts of Food Safety & Standards Authority of India, Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, the railways ministry and the official IRCTC handle.
The user requested that the vendor be investigated for discrepancies and for their licence to be cancelled.
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"Just one request to the authorities, please raid them. I am certain the food is not being prepared as per FSSAI standards. When found guilty, their license should be cancelled. Hope this doesn't get settled through bribes," the user said.
The official IRCTC account replied to their message and stated they cancelled their contract with the vendor and have levied a fine on them worth Rs 10 lakh, They also said that the kitchen has been sealed for pest control and deep cleaning.
"Inconvenience caused is deeply regretted. The matter has been viewed with utmost seriousness and a hefty penalty of Rs 10 lakh along with termination notice of the contract is being issued to the service provider. The kitchen is sealed for deep cleaning and pest control. Hygiene and passenger safety remains our top most priority," the account said.
This is the second time such an incident was reported with Vande Bharat passengers reporting maggots found in their food on March 25, the food was also expired. Railways authorities imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on IRCTC and Rs 50 lakh on a service provider.
ALSO READ: Worms In Curd On Vande Bharat: Railways Fines IRCTC, Terminates Vendor's Contract
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