The luxury comes with a price tag. Apparently, in Bengaluru, some of the food came with something extra: expired meat, mouldy vegetables and questionable hygiene. Humanity has conquered space, but keeping vegetables fresh still appears to be an advanced technology.
A major food-safety crackdown in Bengaluru has exposed disturbing lapses at some of the city’s most prestigious hotels. On August 7, Karnataka’s Food Safety and Drug Administration deployed around 30 teams to inspect 26 three-star and five-star hotels across Bengaluru Urban District. What inspectors found was enough to raise serious questions about how carefully food is being stored before it reaches some of the country’s most expensive dining tables.
Officials reported expired food, fungal growth on vegetables, unhygienic kitchens and storage areas, improper labelling and failures to adequately separate vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. Large quantities of food were seized and destroyed, including more than 250 kg of meat, around 207 kg of vegetables, 32 litres of milk and 3 kg of bakery products. Thirty-five samples were also collected for laboratory testing.
The figures from individual properties are staggering. At The Lalit Ashok, authorities seized 76 kg of meat, 200 kg of vegetables and 32 litres of expired milk. Taj Yeshwantpur saw 72 kg of meat/fish seized, while Radisson Blu yielded 50 kg of chicken, 25 kg of meat, 23 kg of fish and 7 kg of vegetables. Other prominent properties, including Shangri-La, Four Seasons and Vivanta Whitefield, also faced seizures.
The Lalit Ashok has disputed the suggestion that the seized meat was spoiled or intended for guests, saying segregation and storage issues were involved and that the milk was only one day beyond its “Best Before” date and already marked for withdrawal.
But the larger question remains: when consumers pay five-star prices, should they have to wonder whether they are being served five-star food or five-star negligence?
Food safety is not a luxury amenity. It is a basic right.
JANPATH NEWS NETWORK (JNN)
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