Rotten meat, spoiled milk seized across Bengal as food safety raids widen

Image for representation only | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStock Food safety officials across several parts of West Bengal have seized huge quantities of rotten meat, sour milk, and spoiled dairy products as the State Government began Consumer Protection Week on Tuesday (September 1, 2026).During a visit to a prominent shopping mall in Madhyamgram, North 24 Parganas, officials found kilograms of rotten meat stored in refrigerators at several food-court eateries. The meat showed significant fungal growth, indicating it had already expired.“The staff at the shops told us the meat was bought two to three days ago, but they could not produce the necessary purchase documents. We have collected samples of the meat, some sauces, and cold drink bottles, which have been sent to laboratories for testing,” a visiting officer said.Following the inspection, the Food Safety Department cancelled the licences of almost all eateries at the mall.Notices were also issued to two popular restaurants in Baduria and in Dadpur, Hooghly, as well as three Chinese restaurants in Kolkata’s EM Bypass area, from where over 40 kg of stale meat was seized during a surprise inspection on Wednesday. The licence of a chaat shop in Salt Lake was cancelled after it was found to be using contaminated ingredients.A prominent biryani seller in Rishra, Hooghly, was directed to discard its entire stock on Wednesday after officials found it had added spurious colouring.Raids were also conducted at several bakeries and confectioneries in Suri and Bhiennaghar in Birbhum, Bhadreswar in Hooghly, and Shaktigarh in Bardhaman, where flies were found in milk and spoiled eggs were found mixed into cake batter.“Prima facie, many of these shops have been following these practices for years. We have either sealed most of these shops or issued notices. Our inspections will continue across the state. We are alerting the public not to visit these establishments and to avoid their food,” an officer said.Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced zero tolerance for market malpractice, fake flat-booking advertisements, and real estate fraud, comparing the crackdown to earlier action against chit-fund scams. He directed food safety enforcement officials to visit markets and check for weighing-scale manipulation, missing receipts, and artificial price hikes on essential commodities such as sugar and vegetables. Published - September 03, 2026 10:48 am IST