Bengaluru, 13 August

Karnataka Health Minister UT Khader said on Thursday that food safety inspections would be carried out irrespective of the establishment, stressing that public health is more important than the place being inspected.

His remarks come after inspections by officials of the food safety division of the Food Safety and Drug Administration at establishments across the city as per the directives of the Minister to verify compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.

“Let it be a five-star hotel, let it be an Indira Canteen, let it be Arogya Soudha, Vidhana Soudha or any other place. For us, the place is not important. Public health is more important,” he said.

He said the department would inspect establishments and point out lapses, adding that the objective is not to trouble anyone.

Raids Continue

Meanwhile, a food safety team on Thursday found expired raw materials stored in the kitchen of a canteen at the Apollo hospital on Bannerghatta Road during an inspection, officials said.

Officials found expired raw materials such as rava, icing sugar, maida, bakery products stored in containers, four packets of mixture and nine packs of pani puris inside the hospital kitchen. They also found stale bread, two plastic chopping boards and misbranded food items.

Meanwhile, a canteen inside Vikas Soudha, inside the Vidhana Soudha premises, has been sealed after officials found cockroaches on plates and in the kitchen. Vikas Soudha houses the chambers of several ministers and many IAS officers.