West Bengal food safety drive seizes rotten meat, spoiled dairy across state
West Bengal food safety officials seized rotten meat and spoiled dairy during Consumer Protection Week raids, cancelling licences and issuing notices.
Food safety officials in West Bengal have confiscated large quantities of rotten meat, sour milk, and spoiled dairy products during inspections conducted as part of Consumer Protection Week, which began on Tuesday.
At a shopping mall in Madhyamgram, North 24 Parganas, inspectors found several kilograms of decaying meat in refrigerators at food-court outlets. The meat showed visible fungal growth, indicating it was past its usable date. While staff claimed the meat had been purchased two to three days earlier, they could not provide purchase documents. Samples of the meat, sauces, and cold drinks were collected and sent for laboratory testing. Following the inspection, the licences of nearly all eateries at the mall were cancelled.
Separate actions were taken against restaurants in other districts. Notices were issued to two popular restaurants in Baduria and Dadpur, Hooghly, and three Chinese restaurants along Kolkata's EM Bypass, where over 40 kg of stale meat was found during a surprise check. A chaat shop in Salt Lake had its licence revoked for using contaminated ingredients. In Rishra, Hooghly, a biryani seller was ordered to discard its entire stock after spurious colouring was detected.
Inspections at bakeries and confectioneries in Suri and Bhiennaghar (Birbhum), Bhadreswar (Hooghly), and Shaktigarh (Bardhaman) uncovered flies in milk and spoiled eggs mixed into cake batter.
Officials indicated that many establishments appear to have followed these practices for years. Shops have been sealed or issued notices, and further inspections are planned across the state. The public has been advised to avoid these establishments.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced a zero-tolerance policy for market malpractice, including fake flat-booking advertisements and real estate fraud, drawing a parallel with earlier action against chit-fund scams. He directed enforcement teams to check for weighing-scale manipulation, missing receipts, and artificial price hikes on essentials like sugar and vegetables.