Behind The Scenes: Hygiene Crisis In Commercial Cake Production

Convenience often trumps quality and inexpensive, store-bought cakes tempt many. However, a recent exposé by Harsha Balwani, a baker, through a viral video on her Instagram account (@sweetwonders_nasik), has cast a shadow over the seemingly innocuous practice.

Garnering over 16 million views, Balwani’s video offers a candid glimpse into the production processes of a commercial bakery in India, specifically focusing on the making of marble cakes.

This eye-opening tour not only showcases the somewhat chaotic assembly lines but also questions the hygiene and safety of these affordably priced confections. The video serves as a stark reminder of the often-overlooked aspects of mass food production, particularly in the context of baked goods.

Harsha Balwani’s video begins with a scene that might unsettle the average consumer: a bakery worker nonchalantly tossing whole eggs, shells included, into a large mixing bucket. This initial step already hints at the questionable hygiene standards that pervade the facility.

As the video progresses, it shows how ingredients that one would expect to be of a certain quality, such as cocoa powder, are substituted with food colouring and essence to imitate chocolate flavours. The authenticity gets sacrificed here for cost-efficiency.

The mixing process, a critical step in ensuring the smooth texture of cakes, is depicted in a less-than-appetising light. The video captures a worker, his arms submerged in flour, manually combining the ingredients. The lack of machinery for such a fundamental task not only raises eyebrows but also underscores the potential for contamination.