Rotten meat, spoiled milk seized across Bengal as food safety raids widen
Licenses of several eateries and confectionaries from North 24 Parganas, Hoghly, Bardhaman, Kolkata, and Birbhum have been cancelled with Consumer Protection Week under way
Across multiple regions of West Bengal, state authorities have confiscated large amounts of expired meat, spoiled milk, and deteriorated dairy products. As the Consumer Protection Week commenced on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, the government intensified its efforts to enforce food safety regulations.
During a tour of a popular shopping mall in Madhyamgram, North 24 Parganas, officials discovered kilograms of rotten meat stored in refrigerators at various food-court establishments. The meat was severely contaminated with mold, suggesting it had long since passed its expiration date. The mall's management was unable to provide purchase records, leading to the seizure of meat, sauces, and carbonated beverage bottles for laboratory analysis.
Consequently, the Food Safety Department revoked the licenses of nearly all eateries situated at the mall.
Notices were also issued to two prominent restaurants in Baduria and Dadpur within Hooghly district, as well as three Chinese restaurants in Kolkata’s EM Bypass area, where over 40 kg of stale meat was seized during an unannounced inspection on Wednesday. A chaat shop in Salt Lake had its license canceled due to the usage of contaminated ingredients.
Furthermore, a renowned biryani vendor in Rishra, Hooghly, was instructed to discard its entire inventory after it was discovered that artificial coloring had been added to its dishes.
Inspections also targeted bakeries and confectioneries in Suri and Bhiennaghar of Birbhum district, Bhadreswar in Hooghly district, and Shaktigarh in Bardhaman district, where unsanitary conditions were observed. Flies were found in milk supplies, and spoiled eggs were mixed into cake batter at several establishments. Authorities warned the public to refrain from visiting these shops and to refrain from consuming their food.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari declared a zero-tolerance policy towards market malpractices, fraudulent flat-booking advertisements, and real estate fraud. He likened the current crackdown to earlier measures taken against chit-fund scams. Adhikari instructed food safety inspectors to thoroughly examine markets for any signs of scale manipulation, missing receipts, and artificial price increases in essential commodities like sugar and vegetables.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
