Over the past few months, inspectors from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) raided kitchens at five-star hotels in New Delhi's Aerocity, including the JW Marriott and Andaz.
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inspectors → raid → Marriott
The inspectors reported "several serious food safety and hygiene deficiencies" at the Andaz, including "improper segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, pest activity, poor sanitation, inadequate food handler hygiene and improper storage practices."
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inspectors → report → food
During their visit to the JW Marriott property, inspectors observed "serious hygiene and sanitation deficiencies," including "unclean utensils and food-contact surfaces, visible particulate matter in the drinking water" and "inadequate pest control."
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inspectors → observe → water
Both hotels said they were cooperating fully with regulators and reviewing or implementing corrective measures while reaffirming their commitment to food safety, hygiene and guest well-being.
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they → say → safety
Beyond hotel kitchens
The FSSAI crackdown is not limited to premium restaurants.
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crackdown → limit → restaurants
The regulator has also issued more than 150 notices since July to leading food and beverage companies, primarily over misleading advertisements, health claims and labeling.
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regulator → issue → advertisements
The concerns highlighted by the recent raids are reflected in the FSSAI's testing data.
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concerns → highlight → data
In 2023-24 and 2024-25, authorities tested about 170,000 food samples each year, with roughly 1 in 5 found to be non-conforming.
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5 → test → samples
In 2025-26, the testing showed only a slight improvement: Out of 223,808 samples, 40,023 failed to meet safety or labeling standards, according to provisional data given to Parliament in July.
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40,023 → show → July
"Non-conforming" includes adulterated, substandard, contaminated and misbranded food.
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conforming → include → food
Sunil Ghadiok, a veteran hotelier with more than 45 years in the industry and founder of Enserve Hospitality and Management Services, said the "lapses" did not reflect the industry as a whole.
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lapses → say → whole
"Lapses occur because food safety depends on execution at the operational level.
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safety → occur → level
The bigger concern is not the existence of standards, but the commitment to overall hygiene and food safety," Ghadiok told DW.
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Ghadiok → tell → DW
He said inspections needed to become more regular and go where the risk is.
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risk → say → ?
"A complaint or a high-profile inspection should not be what brings food safety back into focus.
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what → bring → focus
Rules versus reality
India seems to be struggling to routinely enforce its food rules.
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India → seem → rules
Businesses can apply for a rating, but they are not required to participate.
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they → apply → rating
Food-safety enforcement can therefore become highly visible when something goes wrong, while routine scrutiny is less apparent.
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scrutiny → become → ?
Yash Bhanage, founder and COO of Hunger Inc Hospitality, which runs The Bombay Canteen, O Pedro and Bombay Sweet Shop, said food safety issues were not necessarily linked to the size or reputation of an establishment.
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issues → run → establishment
"Food safety cannot be treated as a checklist that you complete because an inspector is coming.
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inspector → treat → that
It has to become part of the operating culture of a restaurant," Bhanage told DW.
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Bhanage → have → DW
The challenge, he said, was maintaining standards across changing staff, suppliers, multiple shifts and busy periods.
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he → say → staff
However, Bhanage said the current attention on food safety was "an opportunity for the industry to move from a culture of compliance to a culture of prevention."
Manu Chandra, chef and restaurateur, said the industry's systems needed to reach further.
"
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systems → say → prevention
A robust ecosystem has to be built around the [food and beverage] sector, which in many ways remains disorganized.
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which → have → ways
There is a strong need for systems to be in place, and FSSAI's rules must trickle down, but right now they don't reach every corner of the industry," Chandra told DW.
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Chandra → be → DW
"Better traceability and stronger checks across the supply chain will help the sector in a big way.
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traceability → help → way
The crackdown is already prompting some businesses to strengthen their own systems.
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crackdown → prompt → systems
Samir Kuckreja of Tasanaya Hospitality, a Delhi-based hospitality consulting firm, said restaurants and hotels were seeking more help with food-safety audits, operating procedures and staff training.
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restaurants → base → audits
"We first assess how the kitchen functions and tailor training to address specific shortcomings.
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kitchen → assess → shortcomings
Unannounced inspections followed by frequent audits usually offer better results than scheduled visits or self-assessment checklists," Kuckreja told DW.
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Kuckreja → follow → DW
India's food regulator also under scrutiny
The same question of enforcement extends beyond restaurants.
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question → extend → restaurants
FSSAI's action against major food and beverage companies has included labeling and violations related to misleading claims.
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action → include → claims
Separately, the Supreme Court has been questioning the regulator over its proposed front-of-pack warning labels for packaged foods high in sugar, salt or fat.
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Court → question → sugar
The court has asked FSSAI to provide greater clarity on the scientific basis and thresholds for the proposed warnings, with the case due to return later this month.
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case → ask → warnings
The two issues are separate, but both raise a broader question about how effectively food safety rules are translated into practice.
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rules → raise → practice
The recent raids have shown what inspectors can uncover.
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inspectors → show → what
The question now is whether that scrutiny becomes routine.
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scrutiny → become → ?
"The real measure of a mature food-safety system is what happens on the 364 days when nobody is inspecting you," said Bhanage.
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Bhanage → happen → you
The Aporia
