Hyderabad: Action was initiated against 20 restaurants in Nalgonda, Suryapet and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts following inspections by the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE), which suspended the food safety licences of seven establishments and ordered them to stop operations immediately over hygiene violations.
Ten enforcement teams comprising Food Safety Officers and police personnel inspected 20 eateries on Wednesday, October 14. The teams collected 20 food samples on suspicion of adulteration.
The seven establishments whose licences were suspended are People Combine Hospitality LLP (7 Midway Plaza) and Ammachethi Vanta in Nalgonda district, Tanuja Hotels, Highway Hospitality and Sri Mamatha Lodge and Restaurant in Suryapet district, and Sri Aadhya Grand Family Restaurant and AVR Group of Hotels (Sangam Hotel) in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district.
Inspections revealed cockroach, housefly and rodent infestations, rotten vegetables and eggs, fungal contamination of food items, dirty refrigerators and greasy kitchen equipment.
Vegetarian and non-vegetarian food were found stored together and edible ice cubes were kept alongside raw meat, posing a high health risk.
Some restaurants had slippery kitchen floors, stagnant water, foul-smelling drains, expired and unlabeled food articles, and food handlers working without hairnets and gloves. Several lacked mandatory medical certificates for food handlers and pest control documentation.
Hotel Sai Priya Family Restaurant at Nakrekal was ordered to stop operations for allegedly functioning without an FSSAI licence and maintaining unhygienic kitchen conditions, including rotten vegetables, foul smells and water stagnation.
The authorities will issue improvement notices to eight establishments, directing them to rectify the lapses. Show-cause notices have been issued to five others, with further action, including penalties, proposed for the reported violations.
A food safety official said the alleged violations posed a risk to public health. “Licences of seven establishments have been suspended, and further action will be based on food sample results and compliance during reinspection,” the official said.
TG SAFE officials said the establishments would be reinspected to verify compliance with food safety norms.
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