Five food establishments in Hyderabad’s Kukatpally have been ordered to stop operations after a food safety inspection found multiple violations, including poor hygiene, pest infestation and unsafe food storage.
The action was taken by the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE), which carried out a special inspection in the area on September 9.
A total of 20 restaurants, bakeries, sweet shops and hostels were checked by 10 teams consisting of food safety officials and police personnel, according to ANI.
During the inspections, officials found spoiled and contaminated meat and vegetables at some establishments. The teams also reported cockroach, housefly and rodent infestations. Inspectors also found dirty refrigerators, poorly maintained records and unhygienic premises.
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In some establishments, vegetarian and non-vegetarian food was not kept separately. Teams also found expired food products and said food handlers were not following the required hygiene practices.
The inspection teams collected 20 food samples after suspecting possible adulteration. Several food items that were found rotten or infested were thrown away at the spot. The discarded material included vegetables, groundnuts, flour and red chillies affected by insects and pests.
One of the food outlets, GVK New Luxury PG Men’s Hostel, was found functioning without the required FSSAI licence or registration. Authorities subsequently shut down the hostel.
TG SAFE will issue improvement notices to Gummadi Foods, KS Bakers, Lakshmi Vengamamba Hostel, Padmavathi Delux Mess, Mehfil Restaurant and Sri Harsha Delux Mess.
Paradise Food Court, Chaitanya Food Court, Bhulakshmi Mess and Godavari Mithai will receive show-cause notices. The notices will be linked to penalties for the violations found during the inspections.
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The food authority has also suspended the FSSAI licences of five establishments, including Manikanta’s Live Space Luxury Women’s Hostel, Sri Balaji Luxury Men’s PG Hostel, Hotel Sitara Grand, Bake Max Foods Pvt Ltd (Brown Bear Manufacturing Unit) and Mandi King Arabian Restaurant.
TG SAFE has directed these five establishments to stop their business operations immediately, citing public health concerns.
The enforcement drive is part of Telangana’s ongoing food safety checks across the state. TG SAFE has carried out similar inspections and enforcement action against food establishments in Hyderabad in recent weeks.
