Railways Fines IRCTC Licensees Rs 5.13 Cr Over Food Quality, Terminates 6 Contracts In 3 Years

New Delhi: About only 0.0008% of food quality-related complaints are received on average. Based on complaints during the last three years, appropriate penal actions have been taken by IRCTC, such actions include imposition of fines amounting to Rs 5.13 crore, issuance of 54 show-cause notices, six terminations of contracts and debarment of licensees for food quality and hygiene violations, the Ministry of Railways said.

Regular and surprise inspections are conducted by Railway/IRCTC officials, including Food Safety Officers, to ensure quality, hygiene, safety and regulatory compliance. These inspections cover key aspects such as food safety, staff deployment, equipment maintenance, cleanliness and adherence to prescribed standards while promoting best practices in food handling, storage and preparation.

Railways said it has taken steps to improve quality, hygiene and food safety.

"Supply of meals from designated Base Kitchens, Commissioning of modern Base Kitchens at identified locations, installation of CCTV Cameras in Base Kitchens for real time and better monitoring of food preparation, shortlisting and use of popular and branded raw materials for food production, deployment of Food Safety Supervisors at Base Kitchens to monitor food safety and hygienic practices, deployment of on-board IRCTC supervisors on trains, introduction of QR codes on meal packets supplied in trains to enhance food safety, transparency and passenger awareness," it said.

"The QR code provides details regarding date of packing, name of the licensee and FSSAI license number, for information of passengers," they added.

This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.