OP Jindal Global University canteen worker mashes potatoes with feet, video sparks protests

Stills from the viral video show a kitchen worker stomping on boiled potatoes inside a huge container. (Image credit: @AstroHealerPrit/X)

Students of OP Jindal Global University in Haryana have begun protesting against unhygienic practices being carried out in the campus kitchen after a video of a staffer crushing boiled potatoes with his feet went viral on social media.

The clip shows the worker in shorts, a shirt, and a head cap stomping on cooked potatoes inside a huge vessel while a person off-camera says, "Chee! Yaar, main yeh khana nahi kha raha kal se (Eww! I am not going to have food here from tomorrow)."

Footage of mess food being prepared at O.P Jindal Global University Sonipath, Haryana has gone viral. Students are traumatized by the video, which shows unhygienic conditions and questionable food safety practices. pic.twitter.com/aXxZ2RNHSN

— AstroHealerPritam (@AstroHealerPrit) August 29, 2023

Accordingly, students stopped eating at the campus canteen to register their protest, forcing the management to issue a show-cause notice to Sodexo, a global leader in the food business that has been running kitchen operations at OP Jindal Global University.

Notably, there were no CCTVs installed in the mess and kitchen areas before the incident came to light.

"We have ensured that the food material will not be used for consumption by members of the JGU community. As an immediate measure, we have issued a show-cause notice to the CEO of Sodexo India seeking a written explanation and assurances on this matter," university registrar professor Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik wrote in an email to parents.

Responding to the university's notice, Sodexo said that it was conducting a thorough audit of the entire food preparation process, after deep cleaning the kitchen. CCTVs were also installed in the kitchen, the company told the university.

"Concerned kitchen helpers and supervisory staff are on paid suspension, pending investigation, and will be treated in a just and fair manner," Sodexo stated in an email. "Meanwhile, 15 well-trained and seasoned supervisory staff from other Sodexo sites have been onboarded to drive rigour in the adherence to our stringent hygiene protocols."

The company also formed a food service action plan to prevent similar incidents and ensure that the students have access to food prepared in hygienic conditions. As per the plan, separate teams have been formed to supervise overall operations in the kitchen, recruit food safety managers, ensure non-stop surveillance at the kitchen, and address students' grievances.

Moneycontrol has reached out to the university for a reaction. This report will be updated when they respond.

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