Vada in newspapers to samosas in cardboard boxes: Officials find violations at railway eateries

A special food safety inspection drive at railway stations across Karnataka has uncovered expired milk and curd, food items packed in newspapers, chutney stored in unsuitable plastic containers and suspected use of non-permitted colours in food products.

The Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted inspections at 36 railway stations and checked 112 food establishments Wednesday, including hotels, canteens, stalls, pantry cars and food preparation units operating on railway premises.

Among the violations, samosas were found stored in cardboard boxes, while vadas were kept on newspapers. Food items were also packed in newspapers while being served to consumers. Chutney was found stored in plastic buckets unsuitable for food storage.

Officials also found packets of savoury food items and chapatis being sold without the required labelling details. In some establishments, food business registration certificates were not displayed prominently.

Suspected use of non-permitted colours was also detected. The department said yellow colour was found to have been used in jalebi and pink colour in khoa peda.

At a railway station in Haveri district, officials found expired Nandini curd and Dodla standardised milk packets. Cases involving the sale of expired food articles were also detected at some other food establishments.

The inspections also flagged hygiene and food-handling concerns. Fungal growth was observed on onions and vegetables, while unhygienic conditions were found at a food establishment at KR Pura railway station in Bengaluru.

At some food preparation units at Mysuru railway station, officials found idlis being prepared using plastic material, while food businesses were also found with deficiencies relating to storage, labelling and compliance requirements.

However, officials said the Vande Bharat cluster kitchen in Hubballi was clean.

The department said railway authorities and designated officers would be informed about the violations observed during the inspections. Further legal action will be initiated against food business operators found to have violated prescribed food safety requirements.

The railway-station inspections come amid an intensified food-safety enforcement drive in Karnataka, which has covered star hotels, govt canteens, food warehouses and other establishments. Recent inspections in Bengaluru have uncovered expired food, fungal growth, poor storage and other hygiene violations at several establishments.

Source: The Times of India