Bengaluru, Aug. 17 -- In a massive, statewide enforcement drive, Karnataka's Department of Food Safety and Drugs Administration inspected hostels, schools, hotels, highway dhabas, e-commerce warehouses, and bus stands, collecting thousands of samples and levying hefty fines on non-compliant businesses.

The extensive operation targeted hygiene violations, artificial additives, mislabeled meat, and regulatory non-compliance across both rural and urban areas, including high-end establishments in Bengaluru.

Officials inspected 629 Backward Classes hostels (1,860 samples collected) and 331 Social Welfare Department hostels (556 samples collected).

Inspections across Anganwadi 603 centres yielded 549 food samples. The department noted that 2...