Food Safety Violations Uncovered Across Karnataka Railway Stations

A statewide inspection drive by the Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration (KFSDA) uncovered severe hygiene and safety violations across 112 food establishments at 36 railway stations. The operation focused on food quality, storage, labelling, and hygiene practices under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Inspectors found expired Nandini curd and Dodla milk packets at the Haveri railway station, while fungal growth was observed on onions and vegetables. At the Mysuru railway station, idlis were reportedly prepared using plastic materials. Other violations included storing samosas in cardboard boxes, keeping chutney in non food grade plastic buckets, and using newspapers to pack or serve food. Officials also suspected the use of non permitted synthetic colours, specifically yellow in jalebi and pink in khoa peda. Additionally, some savoury packets lacked mandatory labelling, and food business registration certificates were not prominently displayed. While most establishments faced scrutiny, inspections of pantry facilities on two Vande Bharat trains operating on the Mangaluru to Kerala and Hubballi to Bengaluru routes found them to be clean and hygienic. The KFSDA stated that findings will be shared with railway authorities to initiate legal action against non compliant operators. A South Western Railway official noted that information regarding the inspection was still being collected.