Over the past few months, inspectors from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) raided kitchens at five-star hotels in New Delhi's Aerocity — including the JW Marriott and Andaz. The inspectors reported "several serious food safety and hygiene deficiencies" at the Andaz, including "improper segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, pest activity, poor sanitation, inadequate food handler hygiene and improper storage practices." During their visit to the JW Marriott property, inspectors observed "serious hygiene and sanitation deficiencies" — including "unclean utensils and food-contact surfaces, visible particulate matter in the drinking water" and "inadequate pest control." Both hotels said they were cooperating fully with regulators and reviewing or implementing corrective measures while reaffirming their commitment to food safety, hygiene and guest well-being. The FSSAI crackdown is not limited to premium restaurants.
The regulator has also issued more than 150 notices since July to leading food and beverage companies, primarily over misleading advertisements, health claims and labeling. The concerns highlighted by the recent raids are reflected in the FSSAI's testing data. In 2023-24 and 2024-25, authorities tested about 170,000 food samples each year — with roughly 1 in 5 found to be nonconforming.
In 2025-26, the testing showed only a slight improvement: Out of 223,808 samples, 40,023 failed to meet safety or labeling standards, according to provisional data given to Parliament in July. "Non-conforming" includes adulterated, substandard, contaminated and misbranded food. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Sunil Ghadiok, a veteran hotelier with more than 45 years in the industry and founder of Enserve Hospitality and Management Services, told DW that the "lapses" do not reflect the industry as a whole.
"Lapses occur because food safety depends on execution at the operational level," Ghadiok said. "The bigger concern is not the existence of standards, but the commitment to overall hygiene and food safety." He said inspections needed to become more regular and go where the risk is. "A complaint or a high-profile inspection should not be what brings food safety back into focus," Ghadiok said.
India seems to be struggling to routinely enforce its food rules. FSSAI's Hygiene Rating Scheme for restaurants is voluntary. Businesses can apply for a rating, but they are not required to participate.
Food-safety enforcement can therefore become highly visible when something goes wrong, while routine scrutiny is less apparent. Yash Bhanage, founder and COO of Hunger Inc Hospitality, which runs The Bombay Canteen, O Pedro and Bombay Sweet Shop, told DW that food safety issues are not necessarily linked to the size or reputation of an establishment. "Food safety cannot be treated as a checklist that you complete because an inspector is coming," Bhanage said.
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