[Scorcher]

Stumbled upon this article and was caught by shock!!! (well, not so much) when I read some facts about the eat outs in Techno Park, Trivandrum. This doesn't sound good at all!

I have come across quite some Techies on T-Bhp, thought of sharing this with them before its too late.

Article

Tvm: Working in Technopark Trivandrum? It’s ok as long as you are not eating anything from the various restaurants, food joints and the outlets of leading food chains there. Food from 18 out of 19 outlets / restaurants / food joints in the Technopark campus, which was audited by a leading IT company there, failed to achieve the minimum standards set for safe consumption. There are 21 such places in the campus and while one is closed for renovation, the outlet of a leading pizza chain refused to let their premises to be inspected.

Concerned with the health of its employees, the company, which is one of the largest employers in Technopark, recently audited these outlets / restaurants / food joints keeping a set of well defined parameters. The team will be submitting a copy of the report to Technopark authorities. The sorry state of affairs of these places is a reflection of the innumerable complaints about the quality of food being served; leave apart the pricing, which is another bone of contention.

Some of the key findings of the report are:
1. Excessive use of artificial colouring / flavouring agents in most food joints. There are specific references to Rangoli, which runs three restaurants (Bhawani, Nila & near Park Centre)
2. Use of milk after expiry date in milk shakes / desserts, with specific reference to Passion Fruit which has two outlets (Nila & Thejaswani)
3. Cockroaches / insects in raw food packets, specifically noodle packets in restaurants serving Chinese food
4. Serving plates are not washed properly, serious issue at Thejaswani Food Court as it has centralised washing system and a common washing area
5. Cleanliness inside kitchen of most outlets is an issue, no or minimum usage of disinfectants
6. Repeated usage of heated oil for frying
7. Use of food items after the ‘Best Before’ dates

The audit report comes at a time when Vital Links, the company which runs the food court at Thejaswani has been issued a Termination Notice of its contact by Technopark and new contracts to run the outlets at Bhawani are being finalised or issued. The opening of the food court in Thejaswani in 2008 gave some relief to the techies but it was short lived as several outlets like Mothers Kitchen, Paapa Pancho & the Chinese food joint shut shop following allegations of mismanagement and poor quality food.

The report is not surprising looking at the comments and discussions going on in websites like My Technopark and Technopark Today. The quality and pricing of food has been a major issue for the last several years. Going by the comments, Rangoli seems have mastered the art of serving cooked worms and roasted cockroaches on a regular basis to the techies. There are also reports of techies getting rotten (stale) chicken from Chick King; stapler pin in elayappam from Rangoli; ice cold masala dosa and uppuma which taste like fevicol from Spice Malabar.
The very fact that Dominos refused permission for audit shows that they have got something to hide and feared being exposed. While smoking is banned inside the campus, there is open sale of cigarettes in Food Court (Thejaswani). Food items in Technopark are exorbitantly priced. Most places do not give back the change especially if paid by food coupons. The techies also have to face humiliation and arrogant behaviour from the people who manage these places.

Note: We contacted the Technopark CEO regarding this report. We are waiting for his response and will update the story as we get the same. We hope this audit report will be an eye opener as there are about 30,000 employees in the campus. We also hope that there will be serious action against the offenders.

[vivekiny2k]

In all fairness, the roaches may have been a part of the noodle packet.

But this is very serious. Overuse of colors and flavors is a worldwide phenomenon since it just takes an overzealous cook to add an extra handful of the same.

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by Scorcher

Stumbled upon this article and was caught by shock!!! (well, not so much) when I read some facts about the eat outs in Techno Park, Trivandrum. This doesn't sound good at all!

I have come across quite some Techies on T-Bhp, thought of sharing this with them before its too late.

Name one place outside technopark which is better than these joints inside technopark? The story is same else where, read todays hindu paper and you will know what i am talking about. About 5-6 years ago one can easily eat from road side eateries, but now can you even think of doing that?

The main reason is wafer thin margins, do you know technopark has regulated the prices of food in all the food courts? this has a cascading effect, if the price outside are higher then no one will bother coming out to eat.

Due to these wafer thin margins, the labor employed is usually immigrants from north east and tamilnadu, no offenses but they have the least regards for personal hygiene. When these guys teach the owners the art of turning weekold chicken fry into today's chicken roast the owners are extremely happy. The malabar restaurant outside the main gate used to be nice but now even they have gone on a cost cutting spree.

Things are not going to change, so packup your lunch from home.

Pramod

[hvkumar]

The findings are quite a shocker! I hope these findings are published widely and the brands that are involved are ostracised in other places too considering the manner in which they charge extortionist prices. This is a wake-up call for a whole new generation which appears to think that glitzy and pseudo looking food joints are better than the seedy joint down the street - or "tattu kadas" for that matter

[jkdas]

Shocking but what to do! How many have time to pack? Gotta try packing some stuff.

what is maida ? what is porotta ?- Asianet Nammal Thammil - YouTube

[bullboy]

I dont find anything shock in this.This is a well understood fact for most people who have spend some time in Technopark.Maybe a surprise to some who is hearing the news first time.
I have quarreled with restaurants in TP for not returning balance for food coupons.These thugs think that it is given as free by the company.
The outstation people are suffered a lot.
Frankly I feel technopark is better as one can move outside to find some food,but the condition at infopark is worse. You have to eat what you get there no options ,no complains nothing.
Most restaurants make a profit of atleast 50% on each plate of dish severed , that is how it is priced.
I donot know about any restaurants/eateries that serve healthy food. Initially everyone starts will great hope but falls short too soon.
The best option is to bring your food with you.One might not benefit from the status of eating outside but can ensure that you are eating at least healthy food.

"tattu kadas"

I think recently the govt has banned these due to flavoured fevers (dengue,Chikungunya etc etc) that was spreading too fast.
Most of these tattu kadas don't have access to abundant water supply ,so they resuse the water for cleaning plates,glass etc.
Will they wash the raw rice ( used for thattu dosa) that were eaten by rats in the godown ? I heard that these guys gets rice at discounted rates from ration shops.
When I used to go flour mills to powder chilles and wheat during my childhood days ,I have seen the vessels in which the dosa dough is carried.No one will dare to touch those blackened aluminum pots. Now a days hotels have their own grinders.

[Jayabusa]

In this corporate cluture and 'where is the time?' age of synthetic, adulterated food, it's best to carry fruits, dry fruits and sprouts along with you. Healthy, not heavy and packed with energy.

[vivekiny2k]

Just wondering, is it not possible to have an organic option for health conscious and economy option for money conscious? One doesn't have to subsidize/enforce the existence of the other.