Raids on Hyderabad restaurants continue, lack of hygiene prevails

Hyderabad: Raids by the Food Safety Department, Telangana on food joints and restaurants continue in Hyderabad and officials found questionable standards of hygiene and violation of safety norms.

In Uppal

On Monday, May 20, officials raided two restaurants in the Uppal area- Master Chef Restaurant and Hotel Sai Brundavan Pure Veg.

At the Master Chef Restaurant, officials found the usage of synthetic food colours and they were “discarded on the spot.”

“4 expired Vijaya Milk packets, 65 kgs of unlabeled Ginger Garlic Paste and bakery items were discarded,” it added.

At Hotel Sai Brundavan Pure Veg, officials found the usage of synthetic food colours and they were “discarded on the spot. “Misbranded Jaggery (144kg) and cashew (4kg) worth Rs. 13k were seized for not having proper labelling on their packs,” a press release informed.

“Analysis report for water (cooking/drinking) not available. The refrigerator was in very unhygienic condition with improperly stored semi-prepared food. Food handlers without haircaps, gloves, aprons and medical fitness certificates were seen. Few other hygiene-related issues also were found,” it further said.

At Somajiguda

Unhygienic food storage and expired food were seen at several major restaurants in Somajiguda after the Telangana Commissioner of Food Safety raided the three on Tuesday, May 21.

The first restaurant was Kritunga – The Palegar’s Cuisine Restaurant, famous for its spicy food. Here officials found:

• About 6 kgs of Ganga Gold paneer worth Rs. 2,100 in sealed packets. It had no FSSAI license or logo and was discarded on the spot.
• An expired six kilograms of methi malai paste worth Rs. 1,800. It was discarded on the spot.
• Around 156 units of one litre of water bottles of Kritunga Palegar’s Brand which is worth Rs. 7,800. It contained a TDS value of just 4 ppm which is not usable. Samples were sent to the laboratory for analysis.
• A non-vegetarian paste worth Rs. 648 and citric acid-containing packets worth Rs. 150 were found without proper labels.
• Officials found semi-cooked raw food articles stored inside a refrigerator. It was not properly labelled or covered.
• The kitchen premises were found open to the outside environment without proper mesh/barrier to avoid the entry of pests or flies, and dustbins were found open without lids.

The second major restaurant where raids were conducted was the Head Quarters Rest O Bar in Somajiguda. Officials found:

• Fifty pizza bases worth Rs 400 along with 5 packets of garlic bread worth Rs. 800 and 5 Kg noodles worth Rs. 400 were found to have no labels and were unsealed. They were discarded on the spot.
• Food articles stored inside the refrigerator were not labelled properly.
• Those handling food items were found without safety wear like hair caps, gloves and aprons
• The kitchen premises was found with open dustbins and no proper mesh to keep pests and flies away.
• Food handlers did not have a medical fitness certificate with the FBO.
• Vegetarian and non-vegetarian food was stored together in the refrigerator.
• The usage of synthetic food colours was found.

The third major restaurant where raids were conducted was KFC in Somajiguda. Officials found out that the true copy of the FSSAI license was not displayed at its premises.