BENGALURU: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Karnataka, collected 748 food samples across the state over the past six months, both packaged and loose, of which 78 samples were found to be unfit for consumption. Products of daily consumption like cereals, vegetable oil, confectionary products like biscuits and chocolates did not meet the FSSAI safety standards. The food safety officer said that 20 products were found to be unsafe, 20 were substandard and 38 samples were misbranded.
Govinda Raju, an official at FSSAI, said that 100 food business operators were penalised a sum of Rs 4,27,000 from April to September 2022, for not fulfilling FSSAI’s standards and guidelines for unhygienic conditions, food manufacturing units were found unsuitable for processing, packaging etc.
Udupi led among the Karnataka districts for the highest number of fines collected, followed by Belagavi. Govinda Raju said that as part of a regular drive, FSSAI does checks around the state to ensure hygiene and quality standards are maintained, and gives notices to people who don’t follow them. He explained that consumers do not understand the quality of a product, so it is their duty to check and ensure that they don’t consume bad quality products.
PC Rao, president, Bruhat Bengaluru Hotel Association, said that as part of regular checkups, FSSAI conducts such inspections to ensure that quality standards are maintained. He said that small and medium food joints and hotels find it difficult to meet the standards, and during peak hour, kitchens get dirty and have to be cleaned properly. However, in case of a surprise inspection, if a kitchen is found to be dirty, the management would be fined.