The recent food safety inspections in Bengaluru are a serious wake-up call for the hospitality industry. During a special inspection drive across 3-star and 5-star hotels, food safety officials from the FSSAI reportedly found expired food products, spoiled and mould-affected vegetables, expired milk, poorly stored meat and unhygienic kitchen conditions. More than 100 kg of expired food and 32 litres of expired milk were among the items seized during one reported inspection, while several food samples were also collected for laboratory testing.
As a chef, I find this deeply concerning, not simply because of the quantities involved, but because food safety should never depend on the size, reputation or star rating of an establishment. A five-star kitchen has exactly the same responsibility towards a guest as a small neighbourhood restaurant.
The first rule I would recommend is strict inventory control. Every kitchen must follow FIFO, First In, First Out, and wherever applicable, FEFO, First Expiry, First Out. Receiving teams should check expiry dates, packaging integrity, temperature and quality before accepting any product. Nothing should enter the kitchen simply because it has been delivered by an approved supplier.
Secondly, kitchens need daily opening and closing checks. Refrigerators, freezers and dry stores should be inspected every day, with temperatures documented. Any product showing mould, fermentation, an unusual odour, deterioration or temperature abuse must immediately be isolated and discarded, not salvaged.
Third, there must be clear labelling and traceability. Every prepared or opened product should carry the preparation or opening date, use-by date and responsible section. This makes accountability much stronger and prevents forgotten containers from remaining in cold rooms.
I also strongly recommend regular internal food safety audits, independent of government inspections. A chef, stewarding manager and food safety representative, or hygiene manager, should conduct surprise checks, because compliance should be a daily culture, not something we prepare for when an inspector arrives. The entire set of findings should be submitted to the General Manager, and action should be taken wherever required.
Finally, staff training is critical. Food safety is not only the responsibility of the executive chef or F&B manager. Every person who receives, stores, prepares, handles or serves food must understand cross-contamination, personal hygiene, temperature control and safe storage.
We have a lot to learn from the Dubai Municipality, which spares no one if there is any compromise in hygiene. There are cases where reputed establishments have been sealed for several months because of non-compliance. There is no mercy for gaps in food safety there. I believe this is something we can learn from.
As chefs, our first responsibility is not just to create delicious food. It is to ensure that every plate we send out is safe. Creativity can impress a guest, but food safety earns their trust. And trust, once lost, is extremely difficult to regain.
The Bengaluru incident is particularly important because the inspections involved premium hotels, reminding the industry that food safety cannot be compromised at any level of hospitality.
I hope we can learn from our mistakes and ensure that there are no more such incidents in the future.