Screengrab from the video showing meat kept alongside veg food at a Jaipur restaurant.
Credit: Instagram/bano_fitindia
At a time when eating habits and food choices of individuals across the country have increasingly come under scrutiny and grabbed the headlines for myriad reasons, an incident involving a well-known restaurant in Rajasthan's Jaipur has once again fuelled the debate regarding the topic.
A recent video shared by a food content creator on Instagram named Urvashi Agarwal showed Rajasthan's food safety officers discovering meat stored alongside vegetarian food inside the kitchen of 'Up and Up', a popular Jaipur eatery, triggering outrage and concerns over food safety and hygiene among netizens.
Agarwal, who reviews restaurants and street food across the country, posted the video on her Instagram account on December 27, 2024, where officials can be seen uncovering meat and veg food kept together inside the aforementioned restaurant in Jaipur, while also flagging other food safety violations.
"Food Safety officers Rajasthan inspected Up & Up, the musical terrace and found major food and safety violations. Watch the reel to see the video. Share this with your friends to raise awareness!" she captioned the post.
Soon, the video went viral on social media and sparked massive outrage, with netizens calling out the safety procedures and hygiene standards maintained by restaurants and food joints in the country.
Highlighting the need for more transparency in the restaurant industry, a user questioned, "Why cant we have open-camera kitchens to see how our food is being prepared?"
"They should take strict actions against them," urged another user in the comment section of her post.
Enraged by the incident, a user remarked, "Wow!!! We can't even imagine what's going on behind the scenes!! So disgusting!! They should definitely shut down this kind of restaurant."
"Openly tagging @up_and_up_jaipur. Please tell us how you will make sure to provide hygienic food next time," commented another user, expressing their concern.