Uttar Pradesh’s Food Safety and Drug Administration has ordered government hospital kitchens and canteens to correct hygiene and infrastructure shortcomings within 14 days after inspecting food preparation facilities linked to 42 government medical colleges and about 150 district and other government hospitals.
The special inspection drive was conducted ahead of Gandhi Jayanti and examined how food is prepared, stored, transported and delivered to patients. The FSDA warned that licences and registrations of food business operators could be suspended if identified deficiencies are not addressed within the deadline.
A government spokesperson said public hospital kitchens were prioritised because they serve patients as well as attendants. Patient meals may also require stricter quality and hygiene controls because diets can be linked to medical conditions and treatment requirements.
Officials assessed cleanliness in cooking areas, storage conditions, the personal hygiene of kitchen staff and the quality of raw materials. The inspection also covered preservation practices, pest-control arrangements, systems for distributing cooked food, drinking water facilities, utensil and equipment sanitation, drainage, waste disposal and compliance with prescribed medical diets.
The FSDA said many of the inspected facilities had satisfactory arrangements. However, some kitchens and food storage areas were found to have unhygienic conditions. Officials also recorded drainage leakages, gaps in basic infrastructure and the need to strengthen pest-control measures at certain locations.
The findings place hospital kitchens within a wider operational chain rather than treating food safety as limited to cooking areas. A lapse in drainage, storage, water supply, waste management or transportation can affect the conditions in which meals are prepared and delivered. The department’s inspection scope included each of these stages, along with the final distribution of cooked food to patients.
Hospitals and concerned kitchen operators have been directed to complete corrective work within two weeks. The FSDA said follow-up inspections would be conducted after 14 days, creating a defined compliance checkpoint rather than an open-ended improvement process.
Where repairs or other improvements cannot be completed within the stipulated period, hospitals have been asked to make alternative arrangements without interrupting meal supplies. These may include temporarily shifting cooking operations to other suitable premises while deficiencies are addressed.
The action also places responsibility on hospitals to maintain continuity of patient diets during repairs or operational changes. The FSDA’s next follow-up inspections will determine whether the identified shortcomings have been corrected and whether further regulatory action is required.
