How to Evaluate Food Hygiene and Accommodation at a Rehab Centre

Picture day three of an alcohol detox. Your brother has not eaten properly for a week, his hands are shaking, and the tray in front of him holds a cold, oily paratha and a cup of very sweet tea. Nobody has asked whether he can keep food down. His room has five beds, one window that does not open, and a ceiling fan that squeaks all night. None of this would show up in a glossy brochure, yet all of it affects how safely he gets through the week.

This guide treats rehab centre food and accommodation as part of treatment, not as hotel extras. It gives you a two-part inspection scorecard you can carry on a visit: Part A covers the kitchen and meals, Part B covers rooms, bathrooms and housekeeping. At the end you add up a score, so you can compare centres on something firmer than a gut feeling.

Quick answer: To judge rehab centre food and accommodation, check five things on a visit: the kitchen’s FSSAI registration or licence and how clean it really is, whether a doctor or dietitian shapes the menu, how special diets are handled, how many people share each room, and how bathrooms are cleaned. Score each item 0, 1 or 2 and compare totals.

Why food and rooms are clinical questions

Families often feel awkward asking about meals and bedding when someone they love is in crisis. They shouldn’t. Long-term heavy drinking or drug use often leaves people underweight, dehydrated and short of vitamins, and appetite is usually at its worst in the first days off a substance.

Alcohol is the clearest example. People who drink heavily frequently eat very little, and alcohol itself interferes with how the body absorbs and uses nutrients. The national standard treatment guideline on managing alcohol dependence notes that patients may be malnourished and short of folate, thiamine or vitamin B12, and it treats thiamine supplementation and keeping up hydration and nutrition as part of withdrawal care. The medical team gives the thiamine, but whether the person actually eats enough depends on the kitchen.

Someone with liver damage may need a doctor to set limits on salt, fluids or protein (see how alcohol affects the liver). And because withdrawal can be dangerous for some people, as our post can you die from alcohol withdrawal explains, a person who is vomiting or not drinking water needs medical review, not just a better menu.

Sleep is the other half. Early recovery often brings broken sleep and restlessness, and a crowded, hot, noisy room makes it worse. Poor sleep feeds irritability, cravings and the urge to leave early, so clean bedding, fresh air and quiet nights help keep someone in treatment.

There is also a legal angle. Under section 20 of the Mental Healthcare Act 2017, people in a mental health establishment have a right to a safe and hygienic environment, adequate sanitation and nutritious food, along with privacy and access to personal hygiene items. Asking about them is asking about rights, not favours.

Part A: Checking rehab food hygiene and the kitchen

Ask to see the kitchen, not just the dining hall. A centre proud of its food will usually let you look, at least from the doorway.

A1. FSSAI registration or licence for the rehab kitchen

In India, food businesses are expected to either register with or get a licence from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), depending on their size and type. Smaller operators register; larger ones and caterers are licensed. Either way, FSSAI explains on its hygiene requirements page that food businesses must follow the good hygiene and manufacturing practices set out in Schedule 4 of its licensing and registration regulations, with a separate part of that schedule for catering.

So ask: “Is your kitchen, or your caterer, registered or licensed with FSSAI? Can I see the certificate?” The number is printed on it, and it should be in the name of whoever actually cooks the food.

• Good answer: “Yes, here is our FSSAI registration. It is displayed near the kitchen and renewed on time.” Or: “Our meals come from a licensed caterer. This is their licence and our contract with them.”
• Worrying answer: “We don’t need that, it’s just home cooking for the patients.” Or a vague promise to send it later that never arrives.

A certificate is a starting point, not proof of a clean kitchen. What you see on the walk-through counts for more.

A2. The kitchen walk-through

You do not need to be a food inspector. FSSAI’s guidance document on its hygiene rating scheme is written for restaurants and other food service outlets, and a rehab kitchen may never be rated, but it shows the kind of thinking inspectors use: a trained food safety supervisor, Schedule 4 practices and periodic water and food testing. Borrow that mindset.

• Is the floor dry and free of food scraps? Are drains covered?
• Are raw vegetables, raw meat (if served) and cooked food kept apart?
• Is there a working refrigerator, and is cooked food covered rather than left open on the counter?
• Are dustbins lidded and emptied, and is waste kept away from cooking areas?
• Is there any smell of stale oil, dampness or drains?

Open sacks of atta on the floor or rice with insects suggest a kitchen with no system.

A3. Food handlers’ hygiene

Cooks should wear clean clothes and a head covering, wash hands with soap, and stay out of the kitchen when they have diarrhoea, fever or an infected cut. Ask who supervises the kitchen and whether staff have basic food safety training. A soap-stocked handwashing basin by the kitchen is a good sign; a cook who also cleans toilets in the same clothes is not.

A4. Drinking water

Water matters more than any dish, especially in withdrawal. Ask how it is treated (RO, UV or another filter), how often filters are serviced, whether it is tested, and where residents get water at night. A dispenser that runs dry after dinner is a problem.

A5. Menu planning: who decides what is served?

In good centres a doctor reviews weight, blood sugar, liver tests and any vomiting at admission, and the kitchen is told what each person needs. Some use a dietitian; smaller ones rely on the doctor and a written weekly menu. Either can work if it is planned.

Ask: “Who plans the menu? Is it changed for someone who has just come in for detox?” During medical detoxification, a person may only manage small, soft, frequent meals at first: khichdi, dalia, curd rice, soup, fruit, ORS or nimbu paani. A rigid menu of heavy gravies served at fixed times does not suit this stage.

If the centre gives you a written treatment plan, check whether nutrition, weight monitoring or diet restrictions appear in it.

A6. Special diets

• Diabetes: controlled portions of rice and roti, fewer sweets, regular meal timing, and blood sugar checks if medicines are involved.
• Liver disease: any salt, fluid or protein advice should come from a doctor and reach the kitchen in writing.
• Jain, vegetarian or sattvik diets: no onion, garlic or root vegetables where required, and separate utensils if the family asks.
• Religious fasting: Navratri, Ramzan, Karva Chauth and other fasts need a conversation with the doctor, because fasting during detox or on certain medicines may not be safe. A good centre respects faith and safety together.
• Allergies and intolerances: peanuts, gluten, lactose or anything else should be written down and known to the cook, not just the counsellor.

For several conditions at once, see our guide on rehab for people with complex medical needs.

A7. Meal timing and medicines

Some medicines are taken with food, some on an empty stomach. Ask: “If medicines are given at 8 a.m. and breakfast is at 9:30, who makes that work?” This matters most for diabetes medicines, where a late meal can cause low blood sugar.

A8. Outside food and tiffins from home

Many families want to send ghar ka khana. Outside food can hide alcohol or drugs, clash with a special diet or cause jealousy, so rules are sensible. A reasonable policy might allow a checked home tiffin on visiting days and festivals. Worrying policies are “anything goes” or a total ban with no explanation.

A9. Caffeine, sugar and tobacco

Tea, sugar and cigarettes often become substitutes in early recovery. Sweet cravings are common, but endless sweet chai and biscuits in place of meals is poor nutrition. Ask how much tea is normal and what the policy is on smoking and gutka. Regular meals and steady blood sugar can also ease mood swings; see natural ways to boost your mood during addiction recovery.

Sample day menu: what a balanced rehab day can look like

This table is purely illustrative, not a diet plan for any individual. Someone in withdrawal or with diabetes or liver disease needs changes set by their doctor. It shows what a balanced Indian rehab diet plan for a stable resident might look like.

Time	Meal	Example (illustrative)	Why it helps
7:00 a.m.	Early drink	Warm water or weak tea, a few soaked almonds	Fluids after the night; gentle start
8:30 a.m.	Breakfast	Vegetable poha or besan chilla, curd, a banana	Carbohydrate plus protein for steady energy
11:00 a.m.	Mid-morning	Seasonal fruit, buttermilk or nimbu paani	Hydration; small, easy food
1:30 p.m.	Lunch	Two rotis, dal, sabzi, salad, a small portion of rice	Balanced main meal with fibre
5:00 p.m.	Evening	Roasted chana or sprouts, one cup of tea	Protein; limits sugar cravings
8:00 p.m.	Dinner	Khichdi or roti with paneer or egg curry, vegetables	Lighter, easy to digest before sleep
9:30 p.m.	Bedtime	Warm milk or haldi doodh (if allowed)	Settling routine before sleep

If a centre’s real menu is mostly fried snacks, white bread and sweet tea, that tells you something.

Part B: Rehab centre food and accommodation, the rooms side

A clean rehab facility does not need marble floors. It needs space, fresh air, working bathrooms, safe beds and daily cleaning.

One useful reference is the AIIMS NDDTC minimum standards of care for government de-addiction centres. Written for government hospital units, with space figures it calls indicative, it still describes a decent baseline: well-lit, well-ventilated wards using natural light where possible, around 8 square metres per bed, beds placed away from general traffic for privacy, and separate toilet complexes for men and women. These are fair benchmarks for de-addiction centre living conditions.

B1. Room sharing

Rehab room sharing is normal and can reduce isolation. The questions are how many, how matched and how safe.

• How many per room? Count the beds, and ask whether floor mattresses appear when the centre is full.
• How are roommates matched? A good answer considers age, stage of treatment and mental health; someone in heavy withdrawal is often best near the nursing station.
• Men and women: are they in separate areas, with separate bathrooms and supervised common spaces? Is there female staff on duty at night for women residents?
• Minors: if the centre admits anyone under 18, ask how they are kept apart from adults in rooms and bathrooms. If the answer is unclear, treat it as a serious concern.

B2. Beds and bedding

Press the mattress: firm and covered, or thin and stained? Ask how often sheets are changed (at least weekly, and immediately when soiled) and whether blankets are washed between residents. People in withdrawal may sweat or vomit, so spare linen should be ready.

B3. Ventilation and light

Stand in the room for a minute. Can you smell damp, smoke or toilets? Is there a window that opens? Basement rooms with no daylight lower mood, and daylight helps reset sleep.

B4. Heating and cooling in Delhi summers and winters

Delhi NCR summers regularly push past 40°C, and winter nights can be cold and smoggy. Ask: “What do rooms feel like in June? In January?” Are there working fans, a cooler or AC, and power backup that covers fans and water pumps? In winter, are there enough blankets and are heaters kept away from bedding? Get any extra AC charge in writing, and ask whether outdoor activities move indoors on bad smog days.

B5. Bathrooms per resident

Ask how many residents share each toilet, then look inside the one residents use, not the one near reception. Is there running water, a working flush, soap and a dry floor? Can staff open the lock in an emergency? For women, ask how sanitary pads are provided and disposed of.

B6. Cleaning schedules

Ask whether rooms and bathrooms are cleaned daily, by whom, and who checks. A signed cleaning chart on the door is a good sign. Residents tidying their own space builds routine, but toilets and common areas should not fall entirely on patients.

B7. Laundry

Who washes clothes, how often, and how do they dry in the monsoon? Damp clothes cause skin problems. Ask whether residents can wear their own clothes, which the Mental Healthcare Act protects, and what happens if items go missing.

B8. Pest control

Look for cockroaches, rat droppings and mosquitoes; in dengue season mosquito control is a real health issue. Ask how often pest control is done, whether windows have mesh, and about bedbugs, which spread easily in shared rooms.

B9. Privacy and lockers

Each person should have a locker or cupboard. Ask who holds keys, how belongings are recorded at admission, and how room searches are done, with the resident present or not.

B10. Accessibility for older or disabled residents

If your father is 68 with bad knees, a third-floor room will not work. Ask about ground-floor rooms, ramps, grab rails, western commodes, non-slip floors and night-time help.

B11. Noise and night-time

When are lights out? Is a television blaring until midnight? How do residents call for help? Our post on night-time medical cover in rehab covers the clinical side.

These checks fit inside our broader rehab facility tour checklist.

The scorecard: scoring rehab centre food and accommodation

Score each item honestly during your visit; you are not grading friendliness. If you could not check something, write “not seen” and ask before you decide.

Item	0 = poor	1 = acceptable	2 = good
FSSAI registration or licence	None, or refuses to show	Says yes, shows later	Certificate shown, in the right name
Kitchen cleanliness	Dirty, smelly, open waste	Mostly clean, some clutter	Clean, organised, food covered
Food handlers’ hygiene	No handwashing, no supervision	Basic hygiene, informal	Clear routine and named supervisor
Drinking water	Untreated or unreliable	Filtered, unclear servicing	Filtered, serviced, available at night
Menu planning	Random, no medical input	Fixed weekly menu	Doctor or dietitian adjusts per person
Special diets	Not possible	On request, informal	Recorded and known to the cook
Room occupancy	Overcrowded, floor beds	Shared, slightly cramped	Reasonable space, thoughtful matching
Beds and bedding	Stained, thin, rarely changed	Clean but worn	Clean, firm, changed regularly
Ventilation, light, temperature	Airless, hot or cold, no backup	Fans and a window	Good airflow, cooling, power backup
Bathrooms	Too few, dirty, no water	Shared, usable	Enough, clean, safe, separate by gender
Cleaning and pest control	No schedule, visible pests	Cleaned daily, no records	Schedule, records, regular pest control
Privacy, lockers, accessibility	No storage, stairs only	Some storage, limited access	Lockers, dignity, access for all residents

How to read the total

• 20 to 24: strong on the basics. Food and living conditions are unlikely to be the weak point; focus your remaining questions on clinical care.
• 14 to 19: acceptable with gaps. Ask the centre how it plans to fix the specific items that scored 0 or 1, and get key promises in writing.
• Below 14: think carefully. Low scores here often reflect how the whole centre is run.

One rule overrides the total. A score of 0 on drinking water, bathrooms or kitchen cleanliness should worry you regardless of how well everything else scores. Those three can make people ill quickly.

When comparing centres, add these scores to our method for comparing rehab treatment proposals so rehab centre food and accommodation sit beside clinical care and fees. Higher fees do not always mean better hygiene; our rehab cost in India page explains what drives price, and our post on questions to ask about luxury rehab amenities helps you separate comfort from care.

If you are considering Second New Life, you can ask us every question on this scorecard during a call or visit. A good centre, ours or any other, should welcome the questions.

Questions to ask the kitchen and housekeeping staff directly

Managers give the official answer; cooks and cleaners tell you how things really work. If allowed, ask a few short, friendly questions.

For the cook or kitchen in-charge

• “What did residents eat for lunch yesterday?”
• “How do you find out if someone is diabetic or can’t eat onion and garlic?”
• “What do you make for someone who has just come in and can’t eat much?”
• “Where does the drinking water come from, and who changes the filter?”

A cook who knows where the diet list is kept is a good sign. One who has never heard of a special diet is not.

For housekeeping

• “How many times a day are the bathrooms cleaned?”
• “When were the bedsheets last changed in this room?”
• “What do you do if someone vomits or wets the bed at night?”
• “Do you have enough cleaning supplies?”

Staff always short of phenyl, soap or gloves are working against the odds.

Complaints during the stay: how to raise food or room problems

Even good centres have bad days. What matters is how problems are handled.

Before admission, ask how complaints work

Ask: “If my son says the food is making him sick or his room is too hot, who does he tell, and how quickly does someone respond?” A good centre names a person, often a senior nurse or programme manager, and records complaints. Some hold weekly resident meetings.

Separate a genuine problem from early-recovery complaints

In the first week people often complain about everything, including decent food; that is part of adjustment. Listen calmly and look for specifics. “The dal is boring” is a preference. “There has been no water in the bathroom for two days” or “I’ve had loose motions since Tuesday and two others do too” are real problems that need action.

Raise it in the right order

1. Speak to the named contact by phone and send a short WhatsApp message summarising the problem, with the date.
2. Ask what will be done and by when. Note the answer.
3. If nothing changes, write to the centre’s director or owner by email.
4. For serious concerns about hygiene, safety or dignity in a registered establishment, you can approach the State Mental Health Authority that registered the centre.

If anyone becomes seriously unwell, with high fever, persistent vomiting, confusion, a seizure or signs of severe dehydration, the priority is medical care, not a complaint. Ask the centre to arrange a doctor or a hospital transfer immediately, and call 112 if needed. For emotional support for yourself during this time, Tele-MANAS is available on 14416, and the national de-addiction helpline is 14446.

Frequently asked questions

Does a rehab centre kitchen need FSSAI registration?

Food businesses in India generally have to register with or get a licence from FSSAI and follow its Schedule 4 hygiene practices. A rehab kitchen serving daily meals to residents, or the caterer supplying it, should be able to show you a registration or licence certificate. If the centre says it is not needed, ask why and treat a vague answer with caution.

What should someone eat during alcohol withdrawal?

In the first days, many people manage only small, soft, frequent meals such as khichdi, dalia, curd rice, soup and fruit, along with plenty of fluids. Vitamins like thiamine are given by the medical team, not through food alone. Anyone who cannot eat or keep fluids down needs a doctor’s review, because nutrition and hydration are part of safe withdrawal care.

How many people should share a room in rehab?

There is no single fixed number for private centres. What matters is enough space for each bed, no extra mattresses on the floor, separate areas for men and women, and thoughtful matching of roommates. Government standards for de-addiction wards use roughly 8 square metres per bed as an indicative figure, which is a useful benchmark when you visit.

Can we send home-cooked food to a family member in rehab?

Many centres allow some home food on visiting days or festivals, but with checks. Outside food can hide alcohol or drugs, clash with a medical diet, or upset other residents. Ask about the policy before admission, follow it, and talk to the doctor first if your family member has diabetes, liver disease or other dietary restrictions.

Can the centre accommodate Jain food or religious fasting?

A well-run centre should handle vegetarian, Jain and other religious diets, with the needs written down and known to the cook. Fasting is different, because going without food or water during detox or on some medicines may not be safe. The doctor and the family should agree a safe way to respect the fast, such as a modified version.

Is an air-conditioned room necessary in a Delhi rehab?

Not always, but rooms must stay bearable through Delhi summers, when temperatures often cross 40°C. At minimum, look for working fans, a window or exhaust, safe drinking water at night and power backup. If the centre offers air conditioning for an extra charge, get the cost and conditions in writing before admission.

What a good plate and a clean bed tell you

You will not remember every detail of a visit. You will remember whether the bathroom was clean, whether the cook knew who was diabetic, and whether the rooms felt restful. Those small things say more about a centre than its website.

Use the scorecard, ask the direct questions, and trust what you see. Our kitchen and rooms are open to the same questions. To arrange a visit or ask anything on this page, reach our admissions team on +91 84481 77994.