Karnataka’s Food Safety and Drug Administration has inspected 45 ice cream manufacturing and related units across the state, collecting 70 samples after officials allegedly found expired ingredients, poor hygiene and labelling deficiencies at several facilities.
The special inspection drive was conducted on Thursday, and the FSDA’s food safety division said in a statement issued on Friday that samples of ice cream, milk, milk powder, flavouring substances, sugar, food additives and other raw materials had been collected. The samples have been sent to government food laboratories to assess their quality and compliance with prescribed food safety standards.
In Bengaluru, officials inspecting Savara Ice Cream Café in Jayanagar allegedly found expired food products, including biscuits, milk, alkalised tea and coffee mixes and desiccated coconut powder. The products were seized, according to the food safety division. At M N Enterprises in Bilekahalli, officials allegedly found expired caramel, milk sweeteners and khoa.
The inspection findings extended beyond Bengaluru. The FSDA said its teams found unhygienic conditions at Gemini Ice Cream Manufacturing Unit in Raichur. At the John Candy Ice Cream facility in Mysuru, officials reported deficiencies in labelling. The department has not yet released the laboratory findings for the samples collected during the drive.
The action places food manufacturing and storage practices under scrutiny at a time when ice cream units depend on controlled handling of milk, additives, flavouring materials and other ingredients. The inspection covered both finished products and raw materials, allowing the department to test different points in the production chain rather than relying only on retail samples.
The FSDA said the inspection campaign would continue across the state in the interest of public health. “Appropriate legal action will be taken against those found violating the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Rules/Regulations,” the department said.
The inspections follow a wider enforcement campaign in Karnataka covering kitchens and food storage facilities at five-star hotels, prominent restaurants, fast-food centres and private clubs. The department began the recent series of drives after U T Khader took charge as the state’s Health and Family Welfare Minister in June.
The Karnataka campaign has been conducted along the lines of the Food and Drug Administration crackdown led by commissioner Tukaram Mundhe in Mumbai, according to the report. However, the immediate legal consequences for the inspected ice cream units will depend on the laboratory analysis, the nature of any violations established and subsequent action under the food safety law.
The FSDA’s next steps are to complete testing of the collected samples, determine compliance with food safety standards and take action against units where violations are confirmed. The department has also said that inspections of ice cream manufacturing facilities will continue across Karnataka.
