Bengaluru food safety drive flags violations at hotels and food chains

MUMBAI: Bengaluru’s food scene has been put under the microscope, and this time the findings were far from appetising. The Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (KFSDA) has intensified inspections across the city, uncovering a series of food safety violations at hotels, international food chains and food warehouses.

The three-day enforcement drive, conducted from August 7 to 9, covered 60 three-star and five-star hotels across Bengaluru Urban district and the Greater Bengaluru Area. The department deployed 30 inspection teams and collected 77 food samples for laboratory testing.

The checks also extended to outlets and supply chains of global quick-service restaurant brands including KFC, McDonald’s and Subway. Officials collected samples of mayonnaise, chicken, bread and other food products from outlets and their supplying warehouses for analysis.

The inspection resulted in the seizure of substantial quantities of food products. Officials confiscated 640 kg of mutton, chicken and fish, along with 276 kg of rotten or mould-affected vegetables.

The haul also included 45 litres of expired milk and curd, 12 kg of expired bakery products, 67 kg of mislabelled or expired cereals and other food items, and 49 litres of used or non-compliant cooking oil.

Inspectors reported violations ranging from non-compliant labelling and misbranding to the storage of expired food products. Other issues included improper storage of meat and poultry, unhygienic food preparation areas, fungal growth in vegetables and inadequate segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.

A McDonald’s outlet on Brigade Road was also issued a notice after officials found magnesium sulfite (MgSO3) allegedly being used in connection with the treatment of used frying oil. The authorities said the matter would be examined under prevailing food safety regulations before further action is taken.

Enforcement action also extended to hospitality establishments. The kitchen at Skyye Lounge in UB City was ordered shut after inspectors allegedly found rotten chicken and beef, as well as expired dairy products. Hotel Sky and Pegs & Bottles also faced enforcement measures.

The department did not stop at restaurant kitchens, with distribution centres supplying hotels and restaurants across Bengaluru also coming under scrutiny. Warehouses operated by logistics providers were checked for compliance with food storage and labelling requirements.

The Bengaluru drive comes amid a wider tightening of food safety enforcement across India. In Maharashtra, the Food and Drug Administration recently suspended the licence of a Blinkit facility in Mumbai after inspectors reported cockroach infestation and other food safety lapses.

With regulators increasingly looking beyond restaurant counters to warehouses, dark stores and supply chains, the message is becoming harder to miss: in India’s fast-moving food economy, what’s on the plate matters but so does everything that happens before it gets there.