Bengaluru Food Safety Raids: 23 PGs Get Notices, Bommasandra Dining Area Sealed
The Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration has carried out a special inspection drive across 64 paying guest accommodations in and around Bengaluru, issuing notices to 23 establishments for serious hygiene violations. During the checks, authorities sealed the dining area of a facility in Bommasandra after discovering chemical pesticide stored alongside meals.
The enforcement action in Bommasandra took place at Nandana Elite PG, where food safety officials found bed bug powder placed directly on a dining table next to food items. Citing the severe health hazard and hygiene failure, the team immediately sealed the dining hall of the facility.
Across multiple other PG facilities covered during the drive, inspectors uncovered widespread storage and use of unsafe ingredients. Officials confiscated expired packets of curd, rice flour, and bisibele bath powder, as well as synthetic food colour, black pepper, and several misbranded food products from kitchens preparing daily meals for tenants.
The inspection drive was initiated following a surge in complaints from paying guest residents regarding substandard food quality and deteriorating hygiene conditions in their accommodations. In addition to serving notices to the 23 non-compliant PGs, the regulator collected 12 food samples from the premises and forwarded them for laboratory testing.
The PG inspections come amid a broader enforcement campaign across the city over the past two months. Food safety authorities have executed multiple raids on hotels, restaurants, manufacturing facilities, quick-commerce dark stores, and other locations, uncovering recurring regulatory violations and hygiene deficiencies.
As part of these widespread crackdowns, the Karnataka health department last week ordered the suspension of food licences issued to e-commerce platforms Amazon, Instamart, and BigBasket. The action was taken over the online sale of poisonous datura fruits and seeds for human consumption, which were listed on various platforms—in some instances with FSSAI licence or registration numbers—despite posing serious toxic health hazards.
State officials have also engaged commercial food operators directly to demand stricter compliance. Last week, the Karnataka government convened a high-level meeting with leading hotel owners and top representatives of the Karnataka State Hotels Association, during which state health minister UT Khader reiterated the critical importance of food hygiene and quality.
