Pathanamthitta(Kerala) | The Food Safety Department on Tuesday said that in the one week since commencement of the 'mandala-makaravilakku' pilgrimage season at Sabarimala, 350 establishments near the hill-top shrine were inspected and deficiencies were found in 60 of them.

The department, in a statement said that rectification notices were issued to the 60 establishments where deficiencies with regard to food safety and security were found during the inspections.

It said that food safety squads were formed at places near the shrine, like Sannidhanam, Pampa and Nilakkal, and at the intermediate stations, like Erumeli, to carry out inspections.

These squads are working 24 hours a day to ensure food safety and security for the pilgrims, the statement said.

It said that state Health Minister Veena George has requested everyone to follow the guidelines of the Food Safety Department.

In addition to the squads, labs have been set up at Sannidhanam and Pampa to check the safety and quality of the 'appam' and 'aravana' given to pilgrims as 'prasadam' and the raw materials used for preparing them, the statement said.

Inspections are also being carried out at Nilakkal and Erumeli through a 'Food Safety on Wheels' vehicle which collects food samples and checks their quality, it said.

Food items are also being tested at the District Food Safety Lab in Pathanamthitta and more detailed inspection of samples was also being carried out in a lab at Thiruvananthapuram, the statement said.

Besides the inspections and tests, eight awareness programmes and two license registration fairs were also organised for food entrepreneurs, it said.

As part of the awareness campaign, pamphlets about food safety and security were distributed among pilgrims and food entrepreneurs in six languages, the statement said.

It also said that complaints related to food safety can be reported on the toll-free number -- 18004251125.