Karnataka food safety drive: Hostels, hotels fined in massive crackdown

Karnataka's Food Safety Dept conducted a massive statewide drive, inspecting hostels, hotels, dhabas, and e-commerce warehouses. Thousands of samples were collected, leading to hefty fines, seizures of expired/unsafe food, and legal action.

Statewide Inspections Target Public Institutions

Officials inspected 629 Backward Classes hostels (1,860 samples collected) and 331 Social Welfare Department hostels (556 samples collected).

Inspections across Anganwadi 603 centres yielded 549 food samples. The department noted that 25,626 Anganwadi centres have now received free food safety registration.

124 educational institutions were inspected, with 53 suspicious food samples sent for laboratory testing.

Crackdown on Roadside Eateries and Transport Hubs

889 food stalls were checked across 186 bus stands; 206 received notices for unhygienic conditions, and Rs 55,000 in spot fines were collected.

Five teams raided 99 dhabas along the Nelamangala-Haveri highway corridor (via Tumakuru, Chitradurga, and Davangere), issuing fines totalling Rs 3,67,500.

Bengaluru's Hospitality Sector Faces Heat

30 teams inspected over 60 three- and five-star hotels, 4 international restaurants, and 8 warehouses in BBMP limits, serving notices to 30 operators.

Significant Quantities of Unsafe Food Confiscated

During the Bengaluru hotel inspections, authorities confiscated significant quantities of expired, rotten, and improperly stored food items. 429 kg of mutton & chicken were seized due to mislabeling or expired dates. 203 kg of fish was seized with extended expiry dates. 200 kg of veg food was stored next to non-veg items, plus 76 kg of rotten/mouldy vegetables. 45 litres of milk/curd, 49 litres of substandard used cooking oil, 12 kg of bakery goods, and 67 kg of cereals.

Testing Reveals Unsafe Additives in Popular Dishes

Out of 41 Shawarma and 21 Kebab samples tested for artificial colours, 9 Shawarma and 1 Kebab sample were declared unsafe, triggering legal action.

36 Egg Mayonnaise samples were collected statewide.

Surveillance Extends to Borders and E-commerce

At the Tamil Nadu border, 4 teams tested 25 incoming milk/dairy samples, finding 1 substandard sample.

236 e-commerce warehouses/facilities were inspected. Legal proceedings were initiated against 44 warehouses, while 8 warehouses were fined Rs 1,97,000 for poor hygiene.

Training and Future Enforcement Measures

The department trained 11,370 food business operators under the FSSAI's FoSTaC (Food Safety Training and Certification) program to raise long-term compliance standards.

State officials confirmed that rigorous inspections and sampling drives will continue regularly to enforce strict adherence to food safety standards across Karnataka.

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