Kolkata’s food safety department inspected 27 food outlets in and around Park Street, Russell Street and Middleton Street during the Durga Puja rush, collecting 40 samples and destroying nearly 2 kg of paneer and 20 kg of gravy found to be unfit or past its expiry date, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin – Kolkata.
The inspections were carried out by the municipal food safety team using its “Mobile Food Safety on Wheels” unit. The operation covered roadside sweet shops and eateries selling rolls, chow mein, momos, biryani, chicken chaap and Chinese food in Ward 7 areas, including the Park Street neighbourhood.
The report said the paneer sample was found to be of poor quality and that nearly 2 kg of the product was destroyed at the site. The team also found gravy-based food items without tags showing when they had been prepared. Around 20 kg of such gravy, described in the report as past its expiry date, was discarded by the municipal food safety officials.
The action came as Kolkata experienced heavy visitor movement during the Puja period, when major streets, restaurants and roadside food outlets see a sharp increase in customer footfall. Park Street and its adjoining streets are among the city’s best-known dining areas, making food handling and traceability a significant part of crowd-season municipal enforcement.
The same mobile team had also inspected several restaurants near Deshapriya Park on Shashthi, according to the report. The food safety department began inspections at food shops and restaurants across Bengal about a month before the festival, with the stated aim of checking whether food sold to the public met safety requirements.
Officials told the publication that most of the inspected outlets had displayed valid Food Safety and Standards Authority of India licences in visible locations. Most shops were also found to have the required labels on packaged food, including the FSSAI logo and licence details. The department further reported that many outlets had shifted from loose spices to branded products and that cleanliness during food preparation and serving had improved compared with earlier inspections.
However, the disposal of contaminated paneer and unlabelled or expired gravy shows that compliance remains uneven across the city’s food businesses. The inspection model combines on-site testing with immediate disposal, allowing officials to remove certain suspect products from sale during the inspection itself. The report did not provide details of penalties, laboratory follow-up tests or action against individual establishments.
The food safety department said products found to be problematic would be destroyed immediately during inspections. Further enforcement activity across Kolkata and other parts of Bengal is expected to remain linked to the festival-period food safety campaign.
