How hygienic is Bengal's Durga Puja food plate? Top eateries under scanner

The Kolkata civic body has suspended licences of 40 food outlets, including big names. Inspections found fungus, rotten items, reused oil, harmful colour and moreFor a city that wears its food credentials almost as proudly as its Durga Puja celebrations, the latest report from Kolkata’s kitchens makes for an uncomfortable read.The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has suspended the licences of 40 restaurants and food outlets following a week-long inspection drive, with several of the city's best-known names figuring in the list. Karim’s, Nizam’s, Arsalan, Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick, Mishtimukh and Shimla Biryani are among the establishments facing action, according to civic officials.The inspections, conducted across restaurants, sweet shops, bakeries and food courts, focused on kitchen hygiene, food storage and the quality of ingredients. Civic officials reportedly found rotten and stale food, mould-infested products, spoiled meat, poor-quality spices and prohibited colouring agents at several establishments.KMC commissioner Smita Pandey said the condition of some establishments was particularly alarming. “Hygiene and fungus are the main issues. What we have seen is astonishing. The condition of these 40 establishments is very poor,” she said. The civic authorities have so far inspected 592 restaurants and food outlets while around 1.5 tonnes of food found to be unfit for consumption has reportedly been destroyed.Among the concerns raised by officials was the repeated reuse of cooking oil. In some establishments, inspectors allegedly found oil being used hundreds of times, raising questions over the quality and safety of food being served to customers.The timing of the crackdown is significant. Durga Puja is barely a month away, and this is when Kolkata's celebrated food destinations traditionally see a surge in customers. From biryani at Arsalan and kebabs at Karim's to rolls, Chinese food and the city's famous sweets, eating out is an integral part of the festive experience. But the inspections have offered a glimpse of what consumers may not see once their food reaches the table: the conditions in which it is prepared and stored.The KMC has made clear that the suspension is not necessarily permanent. Pandey said the civic law does not provide for directly cancelling a food outlet's licence. “The municipal law does not have a provision for directly cancelling a licence. For now, the licences have been suspended for two weeks,” she added.During that period, the affected establishments will have to explain the violations and take corrective measures. They may subsequently undergo training and be allowed to resume operations once the required standards are met.Pandey said the inspections would continue in the run-up to Durga Puja. “We had decided where we would go week by week. We have conducted inspections everywhere, from restaurants to markets. What we found was astonishing. The condition of 40 restaurants is extremely poor. Many of them are popular restaurants,” she said.Pandey also said the exercise had highlighted the need for greater cleanliness in sweet shops, with licences suspended at establishments including Balaram Mullick, Girish Chandra Dey and Mishtimukh.The picture emerging from the rest of Bengal is no less troubling. As part of a separate statewide food-safety drive, the health department inspected 5,439 hotels, restaurants and food establishments. According to its report, 4,722 of these were found to have “major irregularities”.Officials collected 2,758 food samples for laboratory testing over suspected adulteration and food-safety violations. Sales of products from 98 establishments were immediately restricted on public-health grounds. Licences or registrations of 35 establishments were suspended or cancelled while 80 shops and commercial establishments were sealed because of the seriousness of the violations. Legal proceedings have also been initiated against 29 establishments.The crackdown comes after chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, while launching a Consumer Protection Week programme at Hogg Market, announced “zero tolerance” towards dishonest business practices, including the use of harmful colours in food and vegetables, adulteration and cheating in weights and measures.For Kolkata, where a Durga Puja itinerary can be planned almost entirely around food, the inspections provide an unwelcome reminder: the city's legendary dishes may be worth travelling for, but what happens behind the kitchen door matters just as much as what arrives on the plate.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsPublished By: Shyam BalasubramanianPublished On: Sep 9, 2026 19:53 IST