BENGALURU: A special food safety inspection at railway stations across Karnataka has flagged suspected use of non-permitted colours in sweets, expired dairy products, unhygienic food-handling practices and fungal growth in vegetables.The Food Safety and Drug Administration department inspected 112 food establishments across 36 railway stations on Thursday, including Bengaluru City Railway Station (KSR), Yeshwanthpura, KR Puram, Yelahanka, Mysuru, Haveri, Udupi, Koppal, Gadag, Davanagere, Ballari, Hospet, Hubballi and Mangaluru.The inspections covered railway pantries, station hotels and food served on trains. While Vande Bharat trains operating between Mangaluru and Kerala and Hubballi and Bengaluru were found to be clean, officials detected suspected use of non-permitted colours in some food products.Yellow colour was suspected to have been used in jalebi, while pink colour was found in khova peda. Expired curd and standardised milk packets were also found at a railway station in Haveri district.At KR Puram Railway Station, inspectors reported unhygienic conditions at a hotel. At Mysuru Railway Station, idlis were found to have been prepared using plastic material, while expired food products were recovered from the kitchen.The inspection teams also found fungal growth on onions and other vegetables. Chutney was being stored in plastic buckets deemed unsuitable for food storage.The food safety department said railway authorities and designated officials would be informed about the violations and legal action would be initiated against food business operators found violating prescribed safety norms.The South Western Railway (SWR), responding to the findings, said it was committed to ensuring safe and hygienic catering services. It said an intensive 14-day Special Food Safety Drive was already underway across all its divisions following Railway Board directives.The drive covers inspections of hygiene and cleanliness, FSSAI licence validity, expiry dates of food products and food-handling practices at catering and vending establishments.According to SWR, its monitoring network covers 428 catering establishments across the Bengaluru, Mysuru and Hubballi divisions, including 34 major units, 272 minor units, 122 IRCTC units, 38 pantry cars and key base kitchens.During 2025-26, the Railways conducted 1,243 inspections and issued 129 Improvement Notices, while 528 food samples were analysed. Of these, 512 were found compliant, while legal or adjudication action was taken in cases involving unfit samples.SWR chief public relations officer Manjunath Kanamadi said the railway zone would continue strict monitoring and take action against vendors who fail to meet prescribed food safety and hygiene standards.
