Bengaluru luxury hotels caught serving spoiled and expired food

Recent food safety inspections in Bengaluru have exposed a disturbing reality inside several luxury hotel kitchens. Thirty teams of food safety officers visited 26 upscale three-star and five-star properties across all Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike zones on Friday, August 7. They discovered shocking hygiene failures, including expired milk, rotting vegetables covered in fungus, and improperly stored raw ingredients. This scary situation in a major metro city raises serious questions about why food safety authorities in Odisha are not actively monitoring our growing number of premium properties in Bhubaneswar and Puri.

Shocking seizures from premium kitchens

Inspectors uncovered a series of severe violations during these surprise checks. Many establishments failed to separate vegetarian items from non-vegetarian products. Authorities also found clear violations of mandatory Food Safety and Standards Authority of India labelling rules, alongside instances of food misbranding. Officials confiscated huge amounts of unsafe food from famous hotel chains. At The Lalit Ashok (Annex South), the team seized 76 kg of meat and 200 kg of vegetables, while destroying 32 litres of expired milk. Shangri-La Bengaluru lost 15 kg of meat to the raid, and Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru had 19 kg of meat confiscated. Taj Yeshwantpur saw a seizure of 72 kg of meat, and inspectors removed 3 kg of expired bakery goods from Vivanta Bengaluru Whitefield. The heaviest seizure took place at The Radisson Blu (The Atria). Here, officials recovered 105 kg of expired items, breaking down to 50 kg of chicken, 23 kg of meat, 25 kg of vegetables, and 7 kg of fish.

Demanding action in local hospitality sectors

During these operations, the department collected 35 specific food samples to send for detailed lab analysis. These samples covered daily kitchen items like tea powder, milk, edible oil, cheese, and tomato sauce, as well as various meats, fish, and spices like turmeric, ginger, pepper powder, cashew nuts, papad, and chilli powder. Authorities have issued formal notices to all offending hotels, and further legal action will depend on the final laboratory reports.

Maharashtra FDA officials are currently running a similar aggressive drive against unsafe eateries in Mumbai, suspending licences wherever they find pests or expired stock. These strict measures in Mumbai and Bengaluru highlight a clear need for similar action back home. Odisha boasts a rapidly expanding hospitality sector, yet local FSSAI teams rarely execute such strict, unannounced kitchen checks to protect everyday consumers.