Bengaluru Food Safety Crackdown: 26 Premium Hotels Inspected, Expired Food & Hygiene Violations Found

Bengaluru: Multiple teams of Food Safety officers on Friday carried out a special inspection of 26 three-star and five-star hotels in the city, collecting 35 food samples for laboratory analysis and seizing expired food articles after detecting several violations of food safety norms, officials said.

The drive was conducted by the Food Safety Wing of the Health and Family Welfare Department under the directives of Health Minister U T Khader, they said. Thirty teams of officials were involved.

According to officials, the inspection was carried out in all three-star and five-star hotels located within Bengaluru Urban District, including under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), to verify compliance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.

"During the special inspection drive, 26 three-star and five-star hotels in Bengaluru city were inspected. A total of 35 food samples were collected and sent to the Food Laboratory for analysis," the Health and Family Welfare Department said in a statement.

The officials said that the inspections revealed several food safety violations, including non-compliance with FSSAI labelling requirements, improper labelling and misbranding of food products, storage of expired food products, unhygienic food handling and storage conditions, fungal growth on vegetables, and failure to maintain separate storage for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items.

Accordingly, notices have been issued to the concerned Food Business Operators (FBOs), and adjudication proceedings before the Adjudicating Officer under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 will be initiated, the statement said.

Food samples collected during the inspection for laboratory analysis included tea powder, chicken, mutton, fish, edible oil, chilli powder, turmeric powder, tomato sauce, lemon juice, cheese, papad, cashew nuts, ginger and milk, the department said.

Among the major violations observed during the inspections were unhygienic conditions in kitchens and food storage areas, meat products not labelled in accordance with FSSAI requirements and storage of expired dairy and bakery products, meat and vegetables, it said.

It said legal action will be initiated wherever violations have been detected.

The Department of Food Safety and Drug Administration has directed all Food Business Operators to strictly comply with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the regulations framed thereunder.

Further action against the defaulting establishments will be taken based on the laboratory analysis reports and the applicable provisions of the Act, it added. 

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