Archive · 11 Aug 2026
Survey finds 94% of Bengaluru diners saw restaurant hygiene violations
Many people in a big city in India called Bengaluru like to eat at fancy restaurants with air conditioning.
But some diners said they saw things that were not clean or safe in those restaurants.
A group called LocalCircles asked about 10,000 people in Bengaluru about their experiences.
It found that 94 out of every 100 diners had seen at least one hygiene problem in the past year.
The most common problem was food being handled by workers without proper cleanliness.
Some people also saw food being heated in plastic containers that might not be safe.
Because of these worries, food safety officials checked 60 hotels in the city.
They found and took away lots of expired or rotten food, like old meat, mouldy vegetables, stale cakes and used cooking oil.
Many diners think restaurants with serious hygiene problems should lose their licences.
Even so, most people still rated the overall cleanliness of the restaurants as good or excellent.
A LocalCircles survey of 9,861 diners in Bengaluru found that 94% reported witnessing at least one food-safety or hygiene violation at air-conditioned restaurants in the past year.
Staff handling food unhygienically was the most commonly reported issue, cited by 32% of respondents.
A Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (KFSDA) drive inspected 60 three- and five-star hotels in Bengaluru Urban district and seized expired meat, rotten vegetables, stale bakery products, old cereals and used cooking oil.
Despite the violations reported, 45% of respondents rated the hygiene and food safety standards of air-conditioned restaurants as good or excellent.
81% of respondents said licences should be suspended immediately in cases of serious hygiene violations.
- Who
- Diners in Bengaluru surveyed by LocalCircles, and officials of the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (KFSDA) who inspected hotels and restaurants.
- What
- A survey found that 94% of respondents reported seeing food-safety or hygiene violations at air-conditioned restaurants, following KFSDA raids that seized expired and rotten food from 60 hotels.
- When
- The survey was conducted between July 14 and August 10; the hotel inspection drive is described as recent.
- Where
- Bengaluru, specifically the Bengaluru Urban district of Karnataka, India.
- Why
- To assess diners' concerns about restaurant hygiene and food safety after the KFSDA stepped up inspections of hotels and restaurants.
- Survey respondents
- 9,861 diners
- Diners reporting at least one hygiene violation
- 94%
- Most reported violation
- Staff handling food unhygienically (32%)
- Hotels inspected
- 60 three- and five-star hotels
- Expired or improperly stored meat seized
- 640 kg
- Rotten vegetables seized
- 276 kg
- Support for immediate licence suspension
- 81%
- Hygiene standards rated good or excellent
- 45%