Bengaluru’s food-safety authorities have begun a special inspection campaign at sweet-making and selling establishments ahead of the Dasara and Deepavali festivals, with 125 food samples collected from 80 locations across Karnataka on the first day.
The campaign began on Thursday after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India directed states to check the quality of sweets sold during the festival season, when demand and sales typically rise. Karnataka’s special inspection drive will continue until October 17, according to the report.
Designated officers and food-safety officers inspected sweet manufacturing and retail premises across the state. The samples have been sent to government food laboratories for examination against food-quality and safety standards. The report did not specify when the laboratory findings would be released or identify the establishments from which individual samples were collected.
The inspections also recorded operational lapses at some establishments. These included inadequate hygiene in food preparation and storage areas, food-handling staff not having medical certificates, and businesses operating without licences from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
Following the findings, notices were issued to 10 sweet-making units and food business operators. A notice gives the department a formal basis to seek a response and proceed under the applicable food-safety law, although the report does not state the specific compliance deadlines given to the operators.
Food safety enforcement in the festival period involves more than testing the finished product. Conditions in preparation and storage areas, the health documentation of workers and licensing status are also part of the regulatory check. These requirements are intended to cover the way food is produced, handled and sold before it reaches consumers.
Department Commissioner K. Srinivasa said further legal action would be taken under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. He said inspections would continue against sweet manufacturers and sellers found violating prescribed standards and that strict action would be taken according to the rules.
The campaign places government laboratories and food-safety officers at the centre of the next stage. The samples collected during the inspections must now be tested, while the businesses that received notices will face the department’s follow-up process. The special inspection drive is scheduled to remain in operation through October 17.
