Bengaluru hotels raided: 132 kg rotten food, fungus-infected meat, expired curd seized in Karnataka's food safety drive

Health authorities in Karnataka raided multiple three-star and five-star hotels in Bengaluru, seizing 132 kg of rotten food, fungus-infected meat and expired curd during a state‑wide food safety drive. The crackdown, led by the Food Safety Wing of the FDA Department, followed public complaints about unhygienic practices, ANI reported.

The department deployed 30 teams to inspect 26 hotels across the city, during which 35 food samples were collected for laboratory testing. Officials flagged a range of issues, including incorrect labelling, expired products still in use, poor storage and handling practices, fungal contamination on vegetables and failure to properly separate vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items.

The inspections revealed violations such as non-adherence to FSSAI labelling norms, mislabelled and misbranded food products, expired items in storage, and unhygienic conditions in food handling and storage.

Following the violations, notices have been issued to the concerned Food Business Operators (FBOs). Adjudication proceedings under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, will now be initiated before the Adjudicating Officer.

Among the samples gathered during the drive were 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, along with several other food items, all of which have been sent for lab analysis.

Hotel-Wise Seizures

Among the establishments inspected, several saw significant quantities of food seized or destroyed. At Hotel Sky, UB City, officials seized 45 kg of rotten chicken/beef, six kg of vegetable cutlet and 15 litres of used cooking oil, taking the total food articles seized to 51 kg. These items were found unfit for consumption and discarded/destroyed as per procedure.

At Royal Chain Hotel, 50 kg of duck and 5 kg of fish were seized, totalling 55 kg. Madras Kitchen had 5 kg of green peas seized, while Tescon Hotel had 5 kg of mushrooms seized. At the Sanchez Hotel, 3 kg of fish was seized, while 7 kg of cake, potato and tacos were discarded.

Across these hotels, the total quantity of food items seized or disposed of was 132 kg, along with 15 litres of used cooking oil.

Separately, Skyee Lounge, located on the 16th floor of the same UB City building, was shut down due to unhygienic kitchen maintenance. Officials found that all the meat and beef at the premises was rotten with fungus. Milk and curd with an expiry date of 10 days prior were also discovered during the inspection.

Why drive was launched

The drive was ordered by Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister UT Khader after the department received multiple public complaints, many of them shared on social media, accusing several eateries of unhygienic practices and selling substandard food, ANI reported.

This latest enforcement action comes against the backdrop of mounting public concern over food safety standards across the state. In recent months, numerous videos and posts on social media have alleged unhygienic kitchen practices, careless food handling, and the use of artificial colours in widely consumed dishes such as gobi manchurian and kebabs. The volume of such complaints has pushed the department to tighten its enforcement approach.

This is not the first such move by the state government. A similar crackdown, called ‘Operation Eat Right’, was carried out last year following reports of food poisoning incidents and the use of artificial colouring in food items. That drive also saw multiple hotels and eateries inspected, with notices issued and penalties imposed on those found to violate food safety norms.