Karnataka Health Minister assures action against hotels using cancer-causing polythene sheets in idli preparation

Karnataka Health Minister reveals 52 hotels using plastic sheets for idli preparation, vows to ban carcinogenic practice.

The Food Safety Department of Karnataka has found that 52 hotels are using polythene sheets to prepare idli, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said on Thursday (February 27, 2025).

According to him, polythene, especially the thin sheets, are carcinogenic and the government will not allow such practices in the hotel industry.

“The Food Safety Department had collected idli samples at 251 places across Karnataka. Earlier, clothes were used for cooking idlis but we got the information that recently, hotels have started using plastic. So our officers went to various spots and conducted an inquiry,” Rao told reporters.

Out of 251 hotels, 52 were using plastic, the Minister said adding, “The hoteliers should have never done it because plastic is carcinogenic, which means that it can cause cancer. Those carcinogenic elements can enter the idli.”

Stating that action has been initiated in this regard, Rao said a clear message will be sent across and plastic will be banned in food-making process. “If someone is doing it, then it should be brought to our notice,” the Minister said.