Hyderabad: Food safety officers raid top restaurants, find unhygienic conditions

Hyderabad: Following complaints of food adulteration, unhygienic practices and quality of food being served at several hotels, restaurants and bakeries in the city, the Task force team of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), along with GHMC Food safety officers, held a series of inspections for couple of days of eateries to find adulteration and other illegal practices.

The teams inspected top restaurants like Rayalaseema Ruchulu, Shah Ghouse, Kamat Hotel and Sukha Sagara Veg Restaurant.

At Rayalaseema Ruchulu, the team found 20 kg maida highly infected with black beetles, 2 kg tamarind infested with insects, expired Amul Gold milk, unlabelled cashews, and jowar roti worth Rs 11,000; 168 bottles of Goli soda worth Rs 16,000 were seized for not possessing manufacturing licence.

Improper storage practices were also noticed at the restaurant. Hygiene issues such as a blocked drain and open windows in the kitchen area were found.

At Shah Ghouse, unlabelled prepared/semi-prepared food was found in storage. Additionally, hygiene issues such as water stagnation were found.

At Kamat Hotel, the team found unlabelled noodles and tea powder packets worth Rs 25,000. Food handlers were found without medical fitness certificates, hair caps and gloves.

At Sukha Sagara Veg Restaurant, JK Button Mushroom Packets were found without manufacturing and use-by dates. The kitchen had no separation from the outside environment.

The team inspected supermarkets, bakeries and KFC and collected samples for analysis. During the inspection at Ratnadeep retail store located at Ameerpet, the team found that Cadbury Bournville Dark Chocolates were leaking from sealed packs. The chocolates were seized; samples were collected for analysis.

Three more outlets: Jumbo King Burgers, KFC, and Five Star Food Court, all located at Ameerpet Metro Station were inspected. At Jumbo King Burgers, the team found the outlet was not using a TPC meter to check quality of reused oil. They found hygiene issues such as water stagnation and open dustbins.

At KFC, the team found improper medical fitness certificates, whereas at Five Star Food Court, hygiene issues such as open dustbins were noted. The medical fitness certificates of food handlers at Five Star Food Court were not available.