States » EastPosted at: Oct 29 2026 6:04PM


Inspection drive to ensure safe, hygienic and quality food products to people: Bihar Health Min Nishant

Patna, Oct 29 (UNI) Bihar Health Minister Nishant Kumar Thursday said the state government's Food Safety Department was conducting inspection and enforcement drives across Bihar to ensure the availability of safe, hygienic and quality food products to the public.
Kumar said inspections were being carried out to check food quality, safe storage practices, kitchen hygiene, compliance with food safety standards, and the validity of licences. Major hotels, restaurants, sweet shops, food manufacturing units and packaged drinking water businesses were among the establishments under special scrutiny.
The minister said the government was fully committed to protecting public health and would not compromise on food safety.
Following special instructions from the Health Department, the state food safety unit has been conducting inspections of food-related establishments since August 27 this year. The campaign has been intensified to ensure that food products available in the market meet prescribed safety and quality standards.
So far, 87 establishments have been inspected across the state, including hotels, restaurants, sweet shops, food manufacturing units, packaged drinking water businesses and warehouses operated by home-delivery companies. Cases have been registered against 15 establishments where major irregularities were detected, while the licences of two establishments have been suspended. The remaining establishments have been issued notices directing them to rectify deficiencies.
Violations of the relevant provisions attract penalties of up to three months'' imprisonment and fines of up to Rs 3 lakh, the minister said.
Patna has accounted for 87 inspections under the drive, with food safety teams examining hotels, restaurants, sweet shops, dairies, fast-food outlets, packaged drinking water units and stores supplying food products online.
During the inspections, spoiled and foul-smelling paneer, sweets, milk, expired food products and other unsafe items were seized and destroyed.
Extensive inspections were also conducted in Sampatchak, Gaurichak and surrounding areas near Patna, where packaged drinking water units operating without valid food licences were examined. Large quantities of packaged drinking water were seized from Mahadev Enterprises, Triveni Neer and other establishments.
Several units were found to have irregularities involving water packaging without licences and the use of labels bearing different brand names. The department ordered the suspension of production and operations at the concerned units and sent food samples to laboratories for testing.
Special inspection drives were conducted at major hotels and restaurants in Patna, including Hotel Gargee Grand, Pataliputra Exotica, The Panache and Hotel Maurya. Inspectors found deficiencies relating to kitchen hygiene, food storage, employee health certificates and water testing.
Some establishments were found storing vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items together, while expired and spoiled food products were also detected at several locations. The establishments concerned were issued 14-day notices to rectify the deficiencies.
Inspections were also carried out at various KFC outlets and establishments such as Barbeque Nation and Pizza Hut.
At a Barbeque Nation outlet on Budh Marg, officials seized and destroyed 30 kg of foul-smelling paneer and 4 kg of rice. The use of 15 kg of packaged chicken was also prohibited. At another Barbeque Nation outlet on Fraser Road, insects were found in packets of bread, while 20 litres of burnt cooking oil were seized and destroyed.
At a KFC outlet on Boring Canal Road, the use of 835 plastic glasses intended for industrial use was prohibited. Several deficiencies were also detected at Pista House.
The department has also inspected major sweet shops across Patna as part of the enforcement campaign.
Beyond the capital, inspections have been conducted over the past three months in Rohtas, Saran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Gaya, Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, West Champaran, Purnia, Bhojpur, Samastipur, Darbhanga and East Champaran districts.
Packaged drinking water, paneer and other food products were seized and destroyed at several locations during these inspections.
The campaign is aimed at ensuring compliance with food safety regulations and protecting consumers from unsafe and substandard food products.
UNI RS RSA
Tags: #Inspection drive to ensure safe# hygienic and quality food products to people: Bihar Health Min Nishant
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