A luxury dining experience at a 3-star or 5-star hotel often assures quality, safety, and impeccable hospitality. But what would you do when the same food feels no less than street cart food, which is often doubted for hygiene and quality? Well, this is not an imaginative story but a harsh truth for many luxury hotels in Bengaluru. According to ANI, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) department has flagged multiple food safety violations ranging from unhygienic storage, fungal growth on vegetables and inadequate segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items at some of the high-end 3-star and 5-star hotels of Bengaluru. Scroll down to read the details.
What did FDA say?
According to latest ANI report, during a surprise inspection drive across 26 hotels of the city, safety officials found and seized rotten meat, chicken, fish and expired bakery products among other unsafe foods. During the inspections, officials found several food safety violations, including non-compliance with FSSAI labelling requirements, improper labelling and misbranding of food products, storage of expired food items, and unhygienic food handling and storage conditions.The regulatory body has now sent notices to the concerned Food Business Operators (FBOs). Adjudication proceedings under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 will be initiated before the Adjudicating Officer, the report added.
Hotels under scanner
According to the Food Safety and Drug Administration, the following hotels were found violating food safety norms and are under scanner.The Lalit Ashok (Annex South): The authorities seized 32 litres of expired milk. They also seized 76 kg of meat and 200 kg of vegetables. –Shangri-La Bengaluru: 15 kg of meat seized.Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru: 19 kg of meat seized.Vivanta Bengaluru Whitefield: 3 kg of expired bakery products.Taj Yeshwantpur: 72 kg of meat/fish seized.The Radisson Blu (The Atrium): 105 kg of expired food articles seized, comprising 50 kg of chicken, 25 kg of meat, 23 kg of fish, and 7 kg of vegetables.
What is the next step
According to FDA officials, food samples collected during the drive 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, among other food products. It is reported that 30 special team have been constituted for such surprise inspection and 35 food samples have been sent to laboratroy for testing. The inspection drive was launched on the directions of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister UT Khader following several complaints from members of the public, including those shared on social media, alleging unhygienic practices and the sale of substandard food at various eateries.
