Gurgaon: Haryana food safety department on Tuesday inspected PAUL cafe at One Horizon Centre and served a notice to the outlet after a customer complained of finding a live worm inside a sandwich served there. Samples of sandwiches and mayonnaise used by the outlet were collected and sent to a state food testing laboratory for analysis.Gurgaon’s food safety officer Sandeep Kumar said the department was informed about the complaint by a journalist on Monday. He inspected the outlet around noon on Tuesday and collected the food samples. “A notice has also been served to the establishment seeking an explanation regarding the presence of the worm in the sandwich. Further action would depend on the laboratory findings,” Kumar said.Kumar said the management acknowledged during the inspection that an insect or worm was visible in the food item. He added, “The management told us that it could have entered with the raw material used to prepare the sandwich, particularly during the monsoon. However, ensuring food served to customers is safe, hygienic and fit for consumption remains the responsibility of the food business operator.”Kumar said the outlet was found clean during the inspection and produced documents related to hygiene, pest control and other food safety requirements. “But compliance on paper does not by itself explain how a live worm was present inside a ready-to-eat food item. That aspect needs to be examined carefully, including food handling, storage, preparation and the source and condition of the raw materials,” he said.The laboratory report is expected in around 14 days, subject to testing and postal processing, Kumar said. Further legal and administrative action will be decided based on the findings.The complaint was made by a customer, Sulabh Mathur, who said he had visited the restaurant with friends for breakfast around 11am on Friday and ordered six to seven dishes. According to Mathur, after eating about half of a sandwich, he noticed a live worm inside the bread and recorded a video of it. The video later surfaced on social media. PAUL’s management apologised to Mathur over a call and message and said it was conducting an internal investigation.
