Vaccination for enteric fever mandatory for hotel staff in TN

CHENNAI: In a decisive move to curb the transmission of enteric fever and reinforce public health safeguards, the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has issued a directive requiring all hotel employees across the State, including cooks, food handlers, kitchen assistants, and serving staff, to undergo compulsory vaccination against enteric fever.

According to officials, hotel managements must ensure that every employee is vaccinated and obtain a medical certificate confirming immunisation. The certificate will be subject to inspection by designated district-level Food Safety officials.

The directive further mandates that the vaccination must be repeated once every two years to maintain continued protection against infection. Hotel owners are instructed to provide a financial allowance of Rs 500 per employee to facilitate vaccination. The FSDA has stated that the measure follows recent reports of suspected infection clusters allegedly linked to food service personnel in restaurants across TN.

The circular reiterated several hygiene and safety protocols that food businesses are required to follow including the maintenance of valid food safety licences, ensuring timely renewals, and strictly avoiding the use of artificial colouring agents in food preparation. Restaurants must also adhere to prescribed sanitary standards for cooking, food storage, handwashing stations, and restroom facilities.

Further, all food handlers must wear gloves and hair coverings while preparing or serving food. Employees exhibiting symptoms of fever or infectious diseases must be restricted from food-handling duties until medically cleared, the directive emphasised.

Officials added that the heightened measures were intended to safeguard public health amid growing concerns over foodborne illnesses. The State government has urged hotel owners to comply fully, warning that inspections will intensify and non-compliance may invite penal action.