Karnataka’s Food Safety and Drug Administration Department inspected 45 ice cream manufacturing units across the state on October 8, collected 70 samples for laboratory testing and seized expired products from establishments in Bengaluru and Mysuru, according to an official release reported by PTI.
The inspection drive was carried out on the directions of Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and related rules. The samples included ice cream, milk, milk powder, flavouring substances, sugar, food additives and other raw materials used by the units.
The department said the samples had been sent to government food laboratories to assess their quality and compliance with prescribed safety standards. The laboratory analysis will determine whether the products and ingredients meet the applicable requirements.
In Bengaluru, expired products were seized from Savara Ice Cream Cafe in Jayanagar 3rd Block and M N Enterprises in Bilekahalli, both under the BBMP, now GBA, South Zone. Officials seized expired biscuits, milk, alkalised tea and coffee mixes and desiccated coconut powder from Savara Ice Cream Cafe.
At M N Enterprises, the seized products included expired plain caramel, Milkmaid and khoa. Officials also found deficiencies in the establishment’s labelling requirements, the department said.
The inspection drive also identified compliance problems outside Bengaluru. Officials observed unhygienic conditions at Gemini Ice Cream Manufacturing Unit in Raichur and issued a notice to the establishment. At John Candy Ice Cream Manufacturing Unit in Mysuru, inspectors found labelling deficiencies and seized ice cream products valued at Rs 20,000.
The action places product storage, ingredient handling and labelling within the same enforcement exercise. For consumers, the inspection covers not only finished ice cream products but also the milk, additives, flavouring substances and other inputs used in manufacturing. The department’s laboratory process is intended to establish whether the collected samples comply with food-safety standards.
The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department said further legal action would be initiated against the establishments concerned under the Food Safety and Standards Act and relevant rules and regulations. It also said special inspection drives at ice cream manufacturing units would continue across Karnataka in the interest of public health.
The department’s next steps are the laboratory analysis of the 70 collected samples and further action against establishments found to have violated food-safety requirements.
