The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department inspected 26 three-star and five-star hotels across Bengaluru as part of the drive.
Read Full StoryThe raids uncovered several food safety lapses, including unhygienic conditions in kitchens and food storage areas, expired food products and improper storage of food items.
There were also cases of improper labelling, food misbranding and violations of mandatory Food Safety and Standards Authority of India labelling rules.
HOTELS RAIDED, UNSAFE FOOD SEIZEDSeveral five-star hotels had unsafe food seized during the drive.
At Shangri-La Bengaluru, 15 kg of meat was seized, while Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru had 19 kg of meat seized.
Fungal growth on vegetables, expired milk and other food products were among the violations found at several upscale hotels in Bengaluru during a special food safety inspection drive, officials said.
The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department inspected 26 three-star and five-star hotels across Bengaluru as part of the drive. Thirty teams of food safety officers conducted inspections on Friday (August 7), covering all zones under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, it said in a statement.
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The raids uncovered several food safety lapses, including unhygienic conditions in kitchens and food storage areas, expired food products and improper storage of food items.
Officials also found vegetables and food articles affected by fungal growth. A video shared by news agency ANI showed kitchen staff at one hotel apologising before dumping a trayful of baked goods into the garbage bin.
Officials also found that some hotels were not keeping vegetarian and non-vegetarian food separately. There were also cases of improper labelling, food misbranding and violations of mandatory Food Safety and Standards Authority of India labelling rules.
Expired milk and other dairy and bakery products, along with chicken, fish, meat and vegetables, were found in storage, according to the department.
HOTELS RAIDED, UNSAFE FOOD SEIZED
Several five-star hotels had unsafe food seized during the drive.
At The Lalit Ashok (Annex South), officials seized 76 kg of meat and 200 kg of vegetables. They also seized and destroyed 32 litres of expired milk.
At Shangri-La Bengaluru, 15 kg of meat was seized, while Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru had 19 kg of meat seized.
Officials seized 3 kg of expired bakery products from Vivanta Bengaluru Whitefield and 72 kg of meat from Taj Yeshwantpur.
The biggest seizure was reported at The Radisson Blu (The Atria), where officials seized 105 kg of expired food products. The haul included 50 kg of chicken, 23 kg of meat, 7 kg of fish and 25 kg of vegetables.
A total of 35 food samples were collected during the drive and sent to the Food Laboratory for analysis. The samples included 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 department issued notices to the hotels over the violations. Further action will be based on laboratory reports and applicable provisions of the law, it said.
The Bengaluru inspections come at a time Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is making waves for its aggressive crackdown on eateries over food safety lapses. In recent weeks, the Maharashtra FDA has suspended food licences of several restaurants and clubs in Mumbai after inspections found issues including pests, expired food, and other violations.
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