The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has announced that its inspection drive will extend beyond the recent food safety checks to include paying guest (PG) accommodations, hostels, hotels, dhabas, restaurants, and other food preparation establishments. The GBA made the announcement through its official social media account.
It stated that, "Each property will be inspected individually, with violations documented through geo-tagged photographs wherever required. The inspection exercise will be completed within 7 days, followed by a comprehensive property-wise report."
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The move comes amid an intensified food safety enforcement campaign in Bengaluru, where inspections of hotels and other food establishments have uncovered expired and spoiled food, unhygienic kitchens and other violations, the Times of India reported.
For food establishments, the GBA's inspection drive would be focused on issues including expired food products, hygiene and food handling practices and compliance with food safety requirements.
The GBA has already been conducting inspections of PG accommodations because of concerns surrounding food quality, hygiene, fire safety, licensing and other regulatory violations.
In June, the GBA informed the Karnataka High Court that inspections of 1,500 PG facilities in Bengaluru East had revealed widespread violations involving building compliance, zoning, fire safety and food safety, the Indian Express reported.
The authority also reported problems involving cramped accommodation, missing fire safety equipment and fire department NOCs, inadequate CCTV infrastructure and other safety violations.
Food related violations were also reported as cited by the Indian Express, with the GBA stating that some PG kitchens were unhygienic and were operating without FSSAI certification, while certain facilities did not provide adequate safe drinking water.
The latest GBA announcement follows a major food safety enforcement campaign across Bengaluru. The Food Safety Wing of Karnataka's Food Safety and Drug Administration Department deployed 30 teams to inspect 26 three-star and five-star hotels, the Times of India reported.
Officials collected 35 food samples during that phase of inspections, while reported violations included expired products, improper labelling, misbranding, unhygienic storage and handling, fungal growth on vegetables and inadequate separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. The inspections covered products including chicken, mutton, fish, edible oil, sauces, cheese, milk and other commonly used ingredients.
The GBA's latest announcement indicates that enforcement is being widened across both residential accommodation and commercial food establishments.
For PG operators, the focus is not limited to food quality, previous inspections show that the authorities are also checking licensing, fire safety, sanitation, drinking water, building compliance and resident safety, the Indian Express reported.
For hotels, restaurants and dhabas, the current drive is primarily aimed at identifying unsafe food, poor hygiene, improper storage, expired ingredients and other food safety violations.
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