A KFC outlet in Mangaluru was sealed after a customer alleged that a Chicken Peri Peri Leg ordered online was stale and tasted bad, prompting Karnataka Health Minister UT Khader to warn of strict action against food safety violations.
Following the complaint, food safety officials conducted a surprise inspection at the outlet in City Centre, checking its kitchen, storeroom, cold-storage facility, deep freezer and stocks of fried and cooked chicken.
Samples collected from the outlet were sent for laboratory analysis, and further action would depend on the findings. "Based on the laboratory report, we will take action under the Food Safety and Standards regulations," Khader said.
The action was part of an intensified food safety drive covering hotels, multinational food chains and other establishments across Karnataka.
Khader also praised the complainant and urged consumers to report suspected violations. "This should inspire other customers as well. If you have any doubts, please inform us. We will take strict action," he said.
Khader said inspections would be conducted at establishments across the state to identify violations and ensure corrective action.
"We are going to inspect everywhere and show them what they are doing wrong. We want them to rectify it, change their mindset, serve healthy food and cooperate with the public," he said.
The minister said regulations allow certain products to be stored for several months at specified temperatures. However, establishments should inform customers how long the chicken being served has been stored, he added.
"If a company is serving chicken stored for one, two or three months, that should be declared to the customer. It is then the customer's decision whether to consume it," Khader said.
The Mangaluru inspection was part of a wider crackdown by the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration Department on hygiene and food-quality violations at hotels, restaurants, resorts and public food facilities.
In Mysuru, officials seized 9 kg of expired chicken from Rio Meridian Hotel, 68 kg of meat from Grand Mercure Hotel and 4 kg of mushrooms from Q Star Hotel.
Inspections at three resorts in Mysuru and Nanjangud taluks led to three notices. Officials also collected five samples for laboratory testing and discarded around 16 kg of expired and perishable food.
More than 1,000 kg of unsafe food items have been seized in recent inspections across Karnataka, according to officials.
The drive also covered food outlets at Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha and Arogya Soudha in Bengaluru. Officials reported unhygienic food handling, inadequate pest control and expired ingredients at some facilities.
Quick-commerce storage centres and some Indira Canteens have also come under scrutiny over sanitation lapses.
In Bengaluru Urban district alone, food safety officials recently inspected 60 three-star and five-star hotels and collected 77 samples for laboratory testing.
