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New Delhi: Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has summoned Amul, India's largest dairy products company, as part of its investigation into a passenger complaint about insect body parts or worms found in curd served as part of a meal.Amul attributed the incident to the possibility of “an infested serving tray” of the vendor and said the specific batch of curd was not supplied to the train through its authorised distribution network.In a statement, IRCTC said it has taken a very serious view of the quality of the Amul curd served in the Patna-Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express. “IRCTC has summoned Amul for explanation about the grave quality concern related to Amul curd,” the public sector undertaking said.In response, a statement from Amul said: “Following a comprehensive investigation and a meeting with IRCTC officials, we would like to inform that such infestation is scientifically and operationally impossible within our production cycle.”It added: “A detailed audit of the value chain revealed no deviations or non-conformities at any stage.”An analysis of video evidence posted by the consumer indicates that the pests likely originated from an infested serving tray provided by the onboard vendor rather than the product itself, the dairy maker’s statement added.The railways earlier this week imposed a Rs 10 lakh penalty on IRCTC over the incident. It also levied a Rs 50 lakh penalty on the onboard food supplier and ordered IRCTC to terminate its contact.Sector watchers said this was among the highest penalties levied by the railways on any caterer.Thie incident happens at a time when the railway has been trying to improve the quality of food supplied on trains.In January this year, the Railway Board listed major reforms for better food quality, catering and onboard services. IRCTC currently serves about 1.65 million meals a day.As a proof of concept, IRCTC last December attempted providing passengers with a diverse, restaurant-quality menu, including local delicacies during travel in select trains.A month earlier, the railways said it would allow established chains such as McDonald’s, KFC, Haldiram’s, Wow Momo and Baskin Robbins to set up outlets at its stations.