BENGALURU: Food safety authorities carried out recent surprise inspections at restaurants, luxury hotels and other food establishments across Bengaluru, uncovering multiple lapses in hygiene.
The government said the inspections were not a one-time campaign, and that food safety enforcement drives will continue across the city, including at state-run canteens.
Three- and five-star hotels were among the 60 food establishments where checks were conducted between Aug 7 and 9, with 77 food samples collected for laboratory testing.
Officials from Karnataka’s Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) said they found violations involving food storage and labelling, expired products and unhygienic food-handling practices.
Large quantities of food and other products were seized, including 640kg of meat and fish that authorities said was either expired, mislabelled or did not carry manufacturing or expiry dates.
Also seized were 276kg of rotten or mould-affected vegetables, expired dairy and bakery products and used or non-compliant cooking oil.
Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader said some establishments were placing greater emphasis on the look of their dining areas, rather than the conditions in their kitchens.
‘‘All the restaurants, the management and the owners … they give (the) least priority for the kitchen and the storage. They give more priority to their ambience, the sitting arrangement, the lighting, the entrance,” he said.
Khader said businesses should instead place more importance on cleanliness, hygiene, food storage practices and food quality.