Highway Restaurants In Telangana Under Scrutiny: Unsafe Food Dumped, Licenses Suspended

Food safety officials in Telangana have taken action against several restaurants located on major highways in the state. The move comes after they conducted a focused inspection drive covering 12 food outlets situated on specific routes. During their visits, the officials flagged a range of food safety violations. They seized large quantities of compromised stock and issued notices. They took to the department's official X (formerly Twitter) handle to share their findings with the public. The restaurants they checked are located in Sangareddy, Warangal and Jogulamba Gadwal districts.

At the establishment known as The Palace Hotel in Rudraram, the officials discovered food safety issues such as clogged drains, an unhygienic kitchen, and pest and rodent infestation. The hygiene and safety concerns were heightened as they also found uncovered/unlabelled food, improper segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food articles, and suspected use of synthetic colours. The officials suspended the license of the restaurant and said that it would "remain closed until issuance of final orders by the competent authority." The team also discarded more than 100 kilos of unsafe food on the spot, including seafood items, chicken, paneer, fried cauliflower, etc.

At the other restaurants, the food safety team found issues like expired ingredients, poor hygiene, unlabelled food, and the reuse of cooking oil. They collected samples for lab testing and issued improvement notices. They also got rid of a lot of food that was deemed unsafe due to different reasons. For instance, at Utsav Restaurant (located on NH-65, in Chityala Mandal), the officials disposed of problematic stock that included meat, seafood, butter, red gravy, manchurian, chicken lollipops and "coloured" food.

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A similar process was followed at Athidhi Restaurant (also located on NH-65, in Choutuppal). Here, the team discarded many kilos of spoiled chicken/meat, expired dry fruits, spoiled sauces, and other unsafe food items. They also got rid of 1.5 kilos of synthetic colours. At the Sangam Hotel situated nearby, the team discovered 2 kilos of synthetic food colours. They discarded eight kilos of cooked food that had been stored for a long time but lacked use-by labels.

The disposal of unsafe food items continued at restaurants located on NH-163 (Warangal-Hyderabad highway). At The Fort Food Court, the discarded articles included coloured prawns, corn, and chicken. Moreover, the officials seized 15 kilos of red gram dal, 9 kilos of turmeric, 18 packets of noodles, and 12 kilos of tamarind, due to labelling issues. At Minerva Coffee Shop & Blue Fox Restaurant, the food safety team got rid of one kilo of synthetic food colours and 5 kilos of "label-defective" items. At Hotel Vivera on the same highway, the team found 12 litres of expired cool drinks and two kilos of gravy that had been stored for a long time. Both types of problematic stock were discarded.

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At Athidhi Restaurant in Gadwal (located along NH 44), the officials got rid of stale biryani pieces and cooked chicken found in a refrigerator on its premises. At Taj Palace Restaurant in Gadwal, they discarded eight kilos of stale raw chicken and three kilos of boiled vegetables. They issued a notice to the establishment for operating without a valid licence.

@cfs_telangana taskforce in a major enforcement drive inspected 12 highway food outlets along NH-65 (Hyderabad–Vijayawada), NH-163 (Warangal–Hyderabad) & NH-44 (Kurnool–Hyderabad) covering Sangareddy, Warangal & Jogulamba Gadwal districts.

At M/s The Hotel NH-9 (The Palace… pic.twitter.com/FP4Vfl8mtd

— Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana (@cfs_telangana) November 1, 2025

Before this, the food safety officials in Telangana undertook a state-wide inspection drive of sweets manufacturing units and sweets retailers during the festive season. They covered 95 establishments across 33 districts and discovered many violations. They also issued a consumer advisory. Read more about their food safety inspections here.