What if the plate you are about to eat from has just been washed on a bathroom floor? That is the question confronting customers after a video from New Delhi Sweets in Korba, Chhattisgarh, showed staff washing utensils inside a restroom. The footage, recorded by a customer, quickly went viral and prompted a food safety inspection.
The employee seen in the video reportedly told the customer that it was an “emergency situation” caused by a water-supply problem that had continued for two to three days, according to India Today.
But this is not the only food-hygiene controversy to surface in India in 2026.
The video showed a staff member sitting on the bathroom floor and washing utensils, including a pressure cooker and other vessels.
When questioned, the employee cited the water shortage. During the subsequent inspection, however, the outlet gave officials additional details. India Today reported that the restaurant said the utensils belonged to staff members who had eaten their meals and were washing vessels used to heat food brought from the main branch.
The management also said the designated washing area was not properly organised and that the restroom had been used temporarily because of the water-supply problem. Officials are examining the explanations.
Food safety officers inspected the premises and issued an improvement notice, directing the outlet to correct the deficiencies within two to three days. Failure to comply could lead to suspension of its food licence.
Yes, and there is one strikingly similar case.
In May 2026, a viral video allegedly showed catering staff washing utensils inside the toilet of the Mumbai-Ernakulam Duronto Express. The footage prompted the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to issue a notice to IRCTC. Hindustan Times reported that FSSAI called the alleged practice “highly objectionable” because washing utensils in toilet areas could create contamination risks. The regulator sought an explanation and an action-taken report from IRCTC.
The key difference is that the Duronto case involved a moving train and onboard catering, while the Korba incident happened at a restaurant. In both cases, however, the concern was the same: food-contact utensils being cleaned in a toilet area.
The concerns go well beyond toilets. In September, Maharashtra FDA inspections led to the suspension of the licence of Mumbai’s historic Kyani & Co. after officials reported rat droppings, live flies, dead cockroaches, blood inside a refrigerator and an open sewage manhole in the processing area. India Today reported that food was also found stored on the floor and that raw and ready-to-eat food was not properly segregated.
At another Mumbai outlet, Daffodils Fast Food Inn, the FDA suspended the licence after inspectors found staff sleeping in food-storage areas and coconuts being peeled inside a bathroom, according to The Times of India.
In August, inspections at Delhi’s Andaz and JW Marriott also uncovered food-safety lapses. India Today reported expired sweets, cockroaches, flies, poor sanitation and problems with food storage and segregation.
Because food safety rules are designed specifically to prevent this kind of cross-contamination. FSSAI’s catering-sector guidance says establishments should have a separate designated place for washing utensils and equipment, with adequate water supply. It also says sanitation facilities should be located away from food-handling areas.
So, while the Korba restaurant says its bathroom washing was an emergency response to a water problem, the bigger question remains: when an eatery runs out of water, should the bathroom ever become the backup kitchen sink?
This year’s string of incidents suggests that for customers, checking what happens behind the kitchen door may matter just as much as checking what arrives on the plate.
(With inputs from agencies)
Dining and Cooking