The Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department has requested citizens to raise complaints of food safety violations by dialling the FSSAI helpline number posted on its website. | The teams comprise officials from Food Safety and Drug Administration.U.T. Khader, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, said, “We were receiving continuous complaints from various people and through videos posted on social media about the sale of substandard food, unhygienic practices at eateries, etc. Every citizen has right to clean and healthy food. From Friday (August 7, 2026), we have started the inspection drive in five-star hotels in Bengaluru.”He added, “These teams are being led by Food Safety Commissioner, Srinivas K. and they will inspect the food and hygiene as per the guidelines of the Food Safety and Drug Administration department. I have instructed officials to submit a detailed report at the end of the day about actions being taken and the kind of violations noticed in these hotels, including big and small.”According to the notification from the department, the inspection will be conducted in five-star hotels, road-side eateries, restaurants and other forms of food businesses. The inspection checklist is prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for each hotel/food establishment. Inspection officials will record video at required locations in each hotel/food establishment for further investigation purposes.The notification also stated that legal action will be taken under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011, in case of violations. It says that a review should be conducted on the caloric value of food items, and officials have to inspect if ingredients like milk or masala items have expired, if the kitchens are hygienic, if food is stored under prescribed temperature, if hotels are using banned colour to prepare gobi manchurian, curries and non-vegetarian items, while also reviewing cross-contamination prevention measures, and cold chain management.Further, necessary steps should be taken to collect food samples of sheep, chicken, fish and other meat products and submit them to a private laboratory for analysis.After conducting the inspection in each of the designated hotels, food establishments, the address of the centralised kitchen of the said food establishment should be obtained and a visit should also be made there for inspection.The department has also requested citizens to raise complaints of food safety violations by dialling the FSSAI helpline number posted on its website. On Friday, 26 three-star and five-star hotels in Bengaluru were inspected and a total of 35 food samples were collected and sent to the Food Laboratory for analysis.Inspections revealed several food safety violations, including unhygienic food handling and storage conditions, fungal growth on vegetables, failure to maintain separate storage for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items, noncompliance with FSSAI labelling requirements, improper labelling and others, stated a release.Around 76 kg of meat and 200 kg of vegetables were seized from a five star hotel in the city. In addition, 32 litres of expired milk were seized and destroyed. In another hotel, three kgs of expired bakery products found were also seized. Around 105 kg of expired food articles, comprising chicken, meat, fish and vegetables were seized from a few more hotels in the city.The release further stated that notices were served to the 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. Published - August 07
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