Kolkata Cancels 40 Eatery Licenses Over Food Safety Lapses

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials on Tuesday cancelled the licenses of approximately 40 restaurants and sweet shops across the city due to severe food safety and hygiene violations. The action, taken during a weeklong Food Safety Week initiative that concluded on September 8, 2026, uncovered a range of issues including rotten food, pest infestations, and unhygienic storage conditions. During inspections conducted over the past seven days, KMC teams visited 592 locations, including restaurants, food courts in shopping malls, and markets. Officials reported destroying 1,224 kilograms of spoiled food items. Among the specific violations found were evidence of wall paint being mixed with biryani, fungal growth in food, and the presence of arachnids and rat nests in food storage areas. Some establishments were found using expired food, burnt oil, and coloring agents, while others failed to properly label stored food. Several well-known establishments were among those whose licenses were suspended, including Karims on Ripon Street, Nizams near the KMC headquarters, Shimla Biryani on the EM Bypass, and an outlet of Arsalan in Nagerbazar.