After Bengaluru 5-Star Hotels, Hospital: Expired Items, Stale Bread Found In Kitchen

The Karnataka Health Department has found expired raw material inside the kitchen of a private hospital in Bengaluru, officials said. During an inspection of the kitchen at the big private today, officials said they found expired raw material - rava, icing sugar, maida and bakery products in containers, among others.

Other expired raw material including four packets of mixture and nine packets of paani puri were also found, officials said.

The food safety team recovered stale bread, two plastic chopper boards, at least nine packets of paani puri, five packets of methi leaves, six packets of fried gram weighing 30 kg, a packet of green peas weighing 30 kg and five packets of moong dal of 30 kg.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka Health Minister UT Khader had said food safety inspections would be carried out regardless of the establishment, stressing that public health was more important than the place being inspected.

His remarks came amid the series of inspections by officials of the Food Safety Division of the Food Safety and Drug Administration at various establishments across the city, including the hospital kitchen.

The inspections were carried out under the minister's directions to verify compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.

Food business operators have been told to strictly comply with the law, the department said. Strict action would be taken for any violation, it said.

Last week, expired milk and rotten meat were found at some of Bengaluru's poshest hotels and resorts including Four Seasons and Shangri-La, among others. Inspections at some of the city's most prominent luxury hotels had uncovered a series of food safety violations, prompting the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department to launch legal proceedings.

Taj Yeshwantpur, also part of the inspection drive, said that their establishment scored 95 out of 100 in the food safety and hygiene scale.

The inspection drive targeted premium hospitality establishments across the city, with officials saying the exercise was intended to ensure that even the state's most prestigious hotels comply with food safety regulations and hygiene standards.