BENGALURU: In one of the biggest food safety enforcementdrives targeting luxury hospitality establishments, the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday conducted surprise inspections at 26 three-star and five-star hotels across Bengaluru, uncovering multiple violations ranging from expired food and fungal-contaminated vegetables to unhygienic kitchens and improper storage of meat products.
The special drive was carried out under the guidance of Health Minister UT Khader by 30 teams of Food Safety Officers across the city. The inspections were aimed at verifying compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.
Officials collected 35 food samples, including tea powder, chicken, mutton, fish, edible oil, chilli powder, turmeric powder, tomato sauce, lemon juice, cheese, papad, cashew nuts, ginger, pepper powder, spice powder and milk. The samples have been sent to the Food Laboratory for analysis, and legal action will be initiated wherever violations are confirmed.
Officials found several food safety lapses including unhygienic kitchen and food storage conditions, storage of expired milk products, bakery items, chicken, fish, meat and vegetables, fungal growth on vegetables, misbranded food products, and packaged food items that did not comply with mandatory FSSAI labelling norms. Authorities also found that some hotels had failed to maintain separate storage for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items, while meat products were not labelled as per FSSAI requirements.
Notices have been issued to the concerned Food Business Operators. The inspection drive also resulted in the seizure and destruction of large quantities of food considered unsafe for consumption.
ROTTEN MENU
76kg of meat, 200kg of vegetables and 32litres of expired milk seized from Lalit Ashok (Annex South)
15kg of meat seized from Shangri-La
19kg of meat confiscated from Four Seasons Hotel
3kg of expired bakery products seized and destroyed at Vivanta Whitefield
One of the largest seizure at Radisson Blu- 105kg of expired food articles including 50kg of chicken, 25 kg of meat, 23 kg of fish and 7 kg of vegetables
72kg of meat and fish seized from Taj Yeshwantpur
