Bengaluru: The warehouses of an Indira Canteen in Gottigere and a quick-commerce unicorn in Hoskote were sealed after officials found “unhygienic” food handling and storage conditions during an inspection drive on Tuesday, officials said.
This comes amid a crackdown on several star hotels and high end restaurants in the city, they said.
The Food Safety and Drug Administration department inspected three kitchens of Indira canteens here through which the government serves highly subsided food, officials said.
Indira Canteens are the Congress government’s flagship initiatives which were started by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during his previous stint from 2013 to 2018.
According to officials, the searches were conducted at three Indira Canteens at Gottigere and Singasandra in Bengaluru South and Lingarajapuram in Bengaluru North by a special team to inspect the quality, safety, storage, labelling and food handling practices at the main kitchens/food preparation units of these canteens, in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011, and the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.
“During the inspections, various food safety violations were observed, including non-compliant labelling, misbranding, unhygienic food handling conditions and other violations of FSSAI requirements,” the department said, in a statement.
In view of these violations, notices were issued to the concerned food business operators of all three establishments, and it has been recommended that cases be filed before the respective Adjudicating Officers for further legal action as per the provisions of the law, it said.
“The warehouse of the Indira Canteen at Gottigere was sealed due to the unhygienic food handling and storage conditions observed during the inspection, in accordance with the applicable FSSAI provisions,” the department said.
During the inspection, the officials said, samples of various food products, including pulses, turmeric powder, cooking oil, jaggery, salt, sugar and other prepared food items, were collected from the concerned establishments and sent to the designated food laboratory for analysis to assess their quality and compliance with prescribed food safety standards.
Inspection was also carried out at the warehouse of a quick-commerce unicorn in Hoskote, which is in the outskirts of Bengaluru during which its premises was found to be “highly unhygienic”, they added.
“In view of the unhygienic food handling and storage conditions observed, the warehouse was sealed in accordance with the applicable FSSAI provisions,” it said, in the statement.
A notice has also been issued in this regard to them, officials said.
The department warned of strict legal action against food business operators found violating food safety regulations.
“The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department will continue to undertake such special inspection drives to ensure that the public is provided with safe, wholesome, hygienic and quality food,” it added.
Following the violations observed during the inspections conducted, the department has also issued an advisory in this regard.
According to the advisory, small hotels, dhabas, restaurants and other food service establishments have been instructed to strictly comply with the guidelines in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards Act and the applicable Regulations, 2011.
The Food Business Operators (FBOs) are required to follow the specified rules.
The advisory stated that the license holder must display the licence at a prominent place on the premises, while the cooking area must be clean, properly managed and well ventilated.
There must be separate sinks for washing utensils, cleaning equipment and cleaning raw food. All raw food materials shall be of good quality and procured from reliable and approved sources, it said.
“The quality and condition of food ingredients shall be checked regularly, and appropriate measures shall be taken to prevent spoilage,” the advisory stated.
All ingredients used for food preparation shall be fresh, wholesome and fit for consumption, and shall be adequately cooked where required, it said.
As per FSSAI regulations, food handlers shall maintain a high standard of personal hygiene. Reuse of used cooking oil shall be avoided, and used cooking oil shall be managed and disposed of through authorised channels, as applicable.
Pest control activities shall be carried out regularly, and proper records of such activities shall be maintained.
“Raw meat, fish/seafood and vegetables shall be stored separately to prevent cross-contamination,” it said.
The advisory also stated that expired food products, spoiled fruits, vegetables, and food showing signs of fungal growth shall be immediately removed and disposed of safely.
“Unsafe artificial colours or unauthorised food additives shall not be used in the preparation of food,” it said.
This post was last modified on August 11, 2026 8:58 pm