Karnataka food safety drive seizes products worth Rs 5.99 lakh, shuts six units
Karnataka's food safety authorities conducted a statewide special inspection drive on sweet manufacturing units on August 31, seizing food products valued at about Rs 5.99 lakh and temporarily closing six units over food safety violations, according to the state's Food Safety and Drug Administration Department.
The drive, carried out on the directions of Health and Family Welfare Minister T. Khader, covered units in Bengaluru Urban and Rural, the Greater Bengaluru Authority, Mysuru, Dakshina Kannada, Belagavi, Kalaburagi and Hubballi-Dharwad. Officials inspected 16 units under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Rules, 2011.
During the inspections, officials collected samples of sweets and other products, including cooking oil, curd, pulses, chickpeas, jalebi, khova, tea powder, Mysore Pak, Jahangir and mixture. The samples have been sent to government food laboratories to assess their quality, safety and compliance with food safety standards.
Violations found
Officials reported several violations across the inspected units, including storage of expired food products, incorrect or improper labelling, unhygienic manufacturing and storage conditions, and the use or storage of unauthorised artificial colours. Several businesses were also found not displaying mandatory information on food packages, such as the manufacturer's name and address, batch number, date of manufacture, Use By date, maximum retail price and FSSAI licence or registration number.
Among the items seized were five litres of expired Nandini curd, 13 large and six small packets of chocolate decoration products for improper labelling, 10 kg of chocolate flavour and 5 kg of rasgulla. Around 60 kg of food products, including banana chips and chakli masala, were found to be misbranded, lacking mandatory details like the manufacturer's name and address and FSSAI licence number.
Major seizures at specific units
At Asha Sweets in Yeshwanthpur, officials seized around 49 kg of tea powder, 20 kg of Khova or Kalakand and 2.5 kg of pistachios suspected to be in violation of food safety norms. At Bikaner Sweets on Magadi Road, inspectors found unhygienic conditions and labelling deficiencies, and the unit was temporarily closed. At Lal Sweets Pvt Ltd, 60 kg of food products lacked mandatory declarations, and fly infestation and unhygienic conditions were found. Maharaja Sweets in Kalaburagi was temporarily closed for unhygienic conditions and labelling deficiencies, and Swagath Sweets in Mangaluru was closed for operating without a food licence.
At Mithai Factory, 14 packets of incorrectly labelled chikki and 5 litres of expired Nandini curd were seized. At Word of Mysore Pack, officials seized 367 kg of ready-to-eat savouries, 4 kg of cocoa powder, 5 kg of cracked cocoa beans and 6 kg of khova. At Balaji Milk Khova, 400 kg of Khova (150 kg Kalakand Khova and 250 kg Khova) was seized, with an estimated value of Rs 77,500.
The department also said notices and legal proceedings were initiated against several other food businesses, including Triveni Bakery and Mita Bharat in Hubballi, Kalyani Sweets and A1 Kunda in Belagavi, India Sweets and Venkateshwara Sweets in Bengaluru, and Popular Bakery Pvt Ltd in Puttur.
Legal action and future drives
The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department said legal action would be taken against violators and that similar special inspection drives would continue. The department did not provide a full list of all units inspected or the total number of samples collected.