PATNA, Sept. 10 -- Bihar's health department has ordered a crackdown on food adulteration, ahead of the festive season, with strict instructions to step up inspections and end all offline reporting of enforcement action, according to a government press release on Wednesday. A special inspection drive will be launched during the festive season, with sharper scrutiny of milk and dairy products, sweets, edible oil, spices and other food items. Providing citizens safe, pure and quality food remains the department's top priority, officials said, adding that scientific testing and enforcement action will continue on a sustained basis. Health secretary-cum-food safety commissioner Kumar Ravi issued the directive at a review meeting on Wednesday, attended by the state food safety commissioner and food safety officers from every district, along with the designated officer and lab officials from the food laboratory at Agamkuan. Ravi specifically directed that safety standards be strictly enforced at hotels, restaurants, catering services, food service establishments, and units dealing in milk, dairy products and edible oil. Food businesses must display their licenses, follow the FEFO (First Expiry, First Out) system, maintain hygiene standards, and comply with FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) norms. Officials were told to prioritise continuous inspection, transparent action and public awareness to ensure safe and quality food reaches citizens across the state. Ravi told officials that food safety enforcement cannot remain confined to paperwork. He directed regular and wide-ranging inspection drives across the state, alongside sustained awareness campaigns for both traders and consumers on food safety norms. All inspection and enforcement reports must now be uploaded immediately to the FoSCoS (Food Safety Compliance System) portal, Ravi said. Offline inspections, he made clear, will not be accepted in any form. Officials said the shift online will bring greater transparency and strengthen the department's functioning, the release said. The meeting also discussed mandatory licensing and registration for food business operators, compliance with safety standards, anti-adulteration drives, faster grievance redressal, and further strengthening the online system. Several similar incidents have occurred in Karnataka where the health department had ordered a crackdown on major food establishments after rotten meat and expired food items, including ingredients have been discovered in popular food facilities and restaurants in Bengaluru....