The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has suspended operations at a railway base kitchen in Lucknow following inspections that uncovered multiple food safety and hygiene lapses across catering units in the state. The action was part of an inspection drive covering 41 railway catering units and two establishments supplying food to airlines, according to a TOI report. The inspections revealed shortcomings in hygiene, food storage, staff cleanliness, drinking water testing, pest control and the maintenance of mandatory records. The FSDA also cancelled the food registration of an establishment in Saharanpur, while nearly one tonne of food items was seized in Kanpur Nagar.
FSDA inspection finds lapses at 30 railway catering units
FSDA teams inspected railway catering base kitchens and food storage premises in Lucknow, Saharanpur, Kanpur Nagar, Agra, Chandauli, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Varanasi, Bareilly and Jhansi.
Deficiencies were found at 30 units, including inadequate cleanliness, missing drinking water testing reports, unavailable employee health certificates, gaps in pest control measures and incomplete stock registers. Officials also flagged the absence of food-grade certificates for packaging materials.
Notices were issued to the establishments, directing them to address the identified shortcomings and comply with food safety requirements.
FSDA seizes 978 kg of food items in Kanpur Nagar
During the inspection in Kanpur Nagar, officials found 978 kg of a food item stored without a label or details of its manufacturing and use-by dates. The entire quantity was seized, the FSDA said. Authorities also collected samples of 26 food items and sent them to a laboratory for quality testing. The results are expected to help determine whether the sampled products meet the prescribed food safety standards.
Airline food suppliers in Lucknow, Varanasi airports inspected
The inspection drive also covered two units supplying food to airlines at Lucknow and Varanasi airports. Officials identified several shortcomings, including employees not wearing shoe covers and masks, missing mandatory records and certificates, and labelling-related issues.
Improvement notices were issued to the concerned establishments, directing them to rectify the deficiencies. The inspections were aimed at ensuring compliance with food safety and hygiene standards at catering facilities serving railway passengers and airline customers.
Inputs from TOI