LUCKNOW, Oct. 15 -- The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (UP FSDA) on Thursday said it had ordered the closure of a railway catering base kitchen in Lucknow after finding rodents and severely unhygienic conditions, while officials seized 978 kg of unlabeled rice crumbs from a catering establishment in Kanpur during a statewide crackdown.

Under its 'Shuddh Hi Shubh' campaign, the department inspected 43 catering units, including 41 railway-linked establishments and two airline catering units. Deficiencies were found in 30 railway catering units across 11 districts, including poor cleanliness, missing drinking water testing reports, absent employee health certificates and gaps in pest-control records, UP FSDA said.

In Kan...