Bengaluru food safety drive: 60 star hotels inspected, 1,089 kg food seized

Karnataka's Food Safety and Drug Administration Department inspected 60 three-star and five-star hotels in Bengaluru during a three-day special enforcement drive and seized more than 1,000 kg of food and other products for alleged violations of food safety norms.

The inspections, conducted from August 7 to August 9 on orders of Health Minister UT Khader, covered hotels across Bengaluru Urban district and the Greater Bengaluru Area. The department deployed 30 teams and collected 77 food samples for laboratory testing, a press statement from the health & family welfare department said.

The drive was aimed at checking compliance with food safety standards, including storage, labelling and food-handling practices, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and related regulations.

Expired Food

Officials found several violations, including non-compliant labelling, misbranding, expired food products, improper storage of meat, fish and poultry, unhygienic food preparation areas, mould-affected vegetables and inadequate segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.

The department seized 640 kg of mutton, chicken and fish for alleged mislabelling and missing or expired manufacturing and expiry dates. It also seized 276 kg of rotten or mould-affected vegetables, 45 litres of expired milk and curd, 12 kg of expired bakery products, 67 kg of mislabelled or expired cereals and other food products, and 49 litres of used cooking oil.

The department said some products had shelf-life declarations extending beyond the prescribed period, while some imported products had subsequently been repacked.

Kitchens at Hotel Sky, UB City and Pegs & Bottles were seized or closed as part of enforcement action, while the seized unsafe and expired products were subsequently destroyed in accordance with prescribed procedures.

Hotels Get Notice

The department has issued notices to hotels where violations were detected and recommended cases before the respective adjudicating officers for further action.

Special inspections were also conducted at international food chains, including KFC, McDonald's and Subway. Samples of mayonnaise, chicken and bread were collected from outlets and their supplying warehouses for laboratory analysis.

At a McDonald's outlet on Brigade Road, officials found Magnesium Sulfite (MgSO3) used in connection with the treatment of used frying oil. The department issued a notice to the food business operator and said further action would follow based on its examination under applicable regulations, the statement said.

The department said similar inspection and enforcement drives would continue across Bengaluru to ensure compliance with food safety standards.