Food Safety Raids Across West Bengal Find Stale Meat and Unsafe Food

Food safety officials carried out raids across West Bengal on September 1 and 2, inspecting hotels, restaurants, bakeries and food courts in Hooghly, Salt Lake and other areas.

In Hooghly's Dadpur area, officials reportedly found piles of meat stored in refrigerators at a hotel, with mould on some portions and blood on others. The hotel claimed the meat had been bought two days earlier but could not produce purchase receipts. Samples of meat and kasundi sauce were collected for testing.

At a biryani outlet in Rishra, officials alleged that an unsuitable food colour was being used in biryani. One pot of the food was ordered to be discarded. A bakery in Bhadreswar was also ordered to stop production after officials found serious hygiene problems, including flies and cockroaches around food ingredients and allegedly spoiled eggs.

A food outlet at a Salt Lake shopping mall was also shut after an inspection. Officials reportedly found an unsuitable chemical in food, while expired pastries were found at a nearby cake shop. Notices were issued and further action was made conditional on compliance with food-safety directions.

The raids are part of a wider food-safety drive in West Bengal aimed at checking whether restaurants and food businesses are following food regulations and maintaining safe standards.