TG SAFE suspends licences of nine Hyderabad food outlets after raids

Nine food establishments in Hyderabad's LB Nagar area have had their FSSAI licences suspended and been ordered to shut down immediately, following a special enforcement drive by the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) on Wednesday.

Ten teams made up of Food Safety Officers and police personnel inspected 20 restaurants, hotels and manufacturing units across the area. Officials said they found spoiled and contaminated meat and vegetables, cockroach, housefly and rodent infestations, unhygienic premises, expired food products and poorly maintained records.

The outlets whose licences were suspended are Hotel Sangeeth Grand Restaurant and Bar, Bahar Biryani Cafe, Balaji Pheni and Namkeen, Bhuvaneshwari Oil Industries, Hotel Sindhura East Court, Chemistry Bar and Kitchen at Surabhi Grand, New Limra Hotel, N Village Multicuisine Restaurant at Champapet, and Hotel Kinara Grand Restaurant and Bar at Vanasthalipuram.

At Sangeeth Grand, officials reported a cockroach infestation, expired food products, pest-infested food articles and the use of synthetic food colours. Bahar Biryani Cafe was found to have a rodent infestation, stale chicken, mutton and prawns, improper segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, and unhygienic premises.

Twenty food samples were collected on suspicion of adulteration. Spoiled and rotten vegetables, stale meat and raw materials, including groundnuts and flour infested with insects or pests, were discarded on the spot.

TG SAFE said improvement notices will be issued to Ramakrishna Oil Mill, Green Land Dhaba, Kefi Cafe, and One Lounge Bar and Kitchen, with officials planning to revisit these establishments to verify compliance. Show-cause notices will also be issued to Galaxy Cafe and Restaurant, AnTeRa Nagole, Hotel Saradhi Grand, Lucky Restaurant, Nagole, Vijaya Raghavendra Hotel, Bhagavati Misthan Bhandar, and The Joint Al Mandi.