Bengaluru 28 Feb

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said on Friday that Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has intensified its enforcement measures to enhance food safety and public health across the State, "The department has stepped up inspections, sample collections, and enforcement actions targeting unsafe food practices, misuse of drugs, and unregulated cosmetic products," Rao said at Arogya Soudha, highlighting the ongoing crackdown.

In January and February, officials tested 3,608 food samples, with 23 found unsafe due to harmful artificial colours, preservatives, and plastic sheets used in food preparation and packaging. "Cases have been booked against the violators," he added.

As part of its broader monitoring efforts, the department has also launched a special campaign in February to assess the quality of bottled drinking water, collecting 288 samples for analysis. The results are awaited.

Crackdown on substandard medicines

He also highlighted stricter monitoring of pharmaceuticals, noting that 1,133 drug samples were collected last year, of which 106 were substandard. In February alone, 1,841 samples were tested, with 58 found below standard. A special drive led to the recall of substandard drugs worth around Rs 17 lakh.

"Once substandard drugs enter the market, tracing and removing them becomes challenging, but we are actively identifying and recalling such products," Rao said.

In parallel, inspections at 488 medical shops for misuse of narcotic and psychotropic substances (NDPS) led to 400 show-cause notices, 231 licence suspensions, and three cancellations. Another drive uncovered 52 shops selling antibiotics without valid prescriptions, with legal proceedings underway.

Unsafe tattoo inks and artificial colours 

Meanwhile, tattoo ink samples tested positive for 22 heavy metals, including arsenic and chromium. With no existing standards, the Food Safety Commissioner Srinivas K has urged the Centre to regulate tattoo ink under Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms.

Rao also flagged unsafe artificial colouring in cakes and green peas, revealing that only five out of 31 green pea samples tested so far were found safe. "Vendors are using harmful colours to make peas appear greener, posing serious health risks," he warned.

Inspections at 681 eateries found 52 establishments using plastic sheets to steam idlis.