Patna: Food safety violations were found at five high-end hotels in Patna during surprise inspections on Friday. Officials destroyed 10kg of mutton and chicken and six packets of bread at The Panache Hotel, while expired products were found at Pataliputra Exotica. The hotels were issued improvement notices, with 14 days to rectify the shortcomings.The inspections covered The Panache Hotel, Hotel Gargi Grand, Patliputra Exotica, Hotel Maurya and Lemon Tree Hotel, following directions from food safety commissioner-cum-health department secretary Kumar Ravi.At The Panache Hotel, around 10kg of mutton and chicken stored in polythene in a freezer without manufacturing or expiry dates was declared unfit for consumption and destroyed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Six packets of bread without expiry dates were also destroyed. The items were valued at Rs 6,250. The hotel’s executive chef said he was not on duty during the inspection and would comment the next day.At Patliputra Exotica, officials destroyed expired products, including 6kg of milk, 8kg of bakery mix, 1.5kg of hydro and 100gm of cumin seasoning. Poor kitchen hygiene, improper storage and a damaged ventilator allowing pigeons inside were also found.At Hotel Gargi Grand, vegetarian and non-vegetarian food was stored together, and stock rotation norms were not followed. Samples of paneer and arhar dal were collected for laboratory testing.At Hotel Maurya, inspectors found rusted refrigeration equipment, poor temperature control, inadequate staff hygiene and drainage deficiencies. The use of aluminium utensils for food preparation was stopped. Lemon Tree Hotel was directed to ensure proper covering of its drainage system.The department said inspections and sample testing would continue to ensure food safety compliance. TOI’s attempts to contact the hotels for their responses went unanswered.
