43 catering units inspected under the "Shuddh Hi Shubh" campaign; quality issues found at 30 railway establishments
Base kitchen shut down in Lucknow over severe unhygienic conditions and presence of rodents; action to cancel food registration initiated in Saharanpur
978 kg of rice crumbs without label or date seized in Kanpur
FSDA team sent 26 food samples to the laboratory for testing during the campaign
Catering units at Lucknow and Varanasi airports also served improvement notices
Inspection focused on hygiene, water testing, pest control and food-grade packaging
Lucknow, October 2026 : To ensure the safety and quality of food served to rail and air travellers, the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (UPFSDA) carried out a wide-ranging enforcement drive against catering units under the "Shuddh Hi Shubh" campaign. During the drive, conducted across various districts of the state, a total of 43 units were inspected, including 41 railway catering units and two units supplying food to airlines. The inspections revealed serious shortcomings in hygiene, food storage, personal cleanliness of staff, drinking water testing, pest control and maintenance of mandatory records. During the action, the operation of a base kitchen in Lucknow was immediately shut down, action was taken to cancel the food registration of an establishment in Saharanpur, and 978 kilograms of rice crumbs were seized in Kanpur Nagar. 26 statutory samples of food items were also collected and sent to the laboratory for testing.
From hygiene to food storage, issues found in 30 units
The department's teams inspected base kitchens and food storage premises connected with railway catering in Lucknow, Saharanpur, Kanpur Nagar, Agra, Chandauli, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Varanasi, Bareilly and Jhansi. In 30 railway catering units, deficiencies were found relating to cleanliness, water testing reports, health certificates of employees, pest control, stock registers and food-grade certificates for food packaging materials. Issuance of improvement notices against these units has been recommended.
Unhygienic base kitchen shut down in Lucknow, action to cancel registration in Saharanpur
In the Aishbagh area of Lucknow, the base kitchen of M/s Chandra Mauli Mishra was ordered shut down with immediate effect, in the interest of public health, after severely unhygienic conditions and the presence of pests and rodents were found. In Saharanpur, action to cancel the food registration was taken against the establishment of Monty Kumar, son of Devi Sharan, after food items were found being prepared and stored in unhygienic conditions.
978 kg of rice crumbs seized in Kanpur
At the establishment of R.K. Associates and Hoteliers Private Limited in Kanpur Nagar, 978 kilograms of rice crumbs, kept without a label and without mention of the manufacturing and use dates, were seized. The seized material was left in the custody of the food business operator. In addition, during the campaign, legal samples of 26 food items were taken and sent to the laboratory for quality testing. Some establishments were found closed at the time of inspection.
Action on airline catering too, directions to remedy quality issues
The units supplying food to airlines at the Lucknow and Varanasi airports were also inspected. At both airports, food is supplied by Pradeep Air Caterer. During the inspection, shortcomings emerged, including some employees not using shoe covers and masks, unavailability of required records and certificates, and issues related to labelling. Utensils for veg and non-veg food had also not been marked separately. Improvement notices were issued to the concerned units to remedy the deficiencies.
The Food Safety and Drug Administration's emphasis is on ensuring that food businesses comply with the prescribed standards and on maintaining the availability of safe, hygienic and quality food for travellers. Through the inspection campaign, the department made it clear that action will be taken against neglect of the mandatory provisions on hygiene, safe storage and food safety in catering units.
