The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) found multiple food safety and hygiene violations, including expired food items, poor storage practices, pest infestation and alleged misbranding, during inspections at seven popular restaurants across Hyderabad.
The authority has issued notices to several establishments and collected food samples for testing as part of its ongoing enforcement drive.
The inspections were carried out in Hyderabad's Core Urban Region (CURE) on Saturday by six teams comprising Food Safety Officers and police personnel.
The teams inspected Chutneys, Spice 6 and Ohri's in Banjara Hills, The Spicy Venue in Jubilee Hills, 4 Seasons Multi-Cuisine Restaurant and Shah Ghouse in Tolichowki, and Pista House in Gachibowli.
Officials reported several violations during the inspections, including poor hygiene, expired food items, improper handling and storage of food, spoiled vegetables, violations of food labelling and display regulations, and pest infestation.
At Pista House in Gachibowli, officials found violations in the storeroom. They seized 15 kg of dry fruits, 24 kg of dry noodles and 5 kg of potato chips, valued at about Rs 17,500, over alleged misbranding violations. Samples of ghee and paneer were also collected for testing.
Across the seven restaurants, TG SAFE collected 11 food samples on suspicion of adulteration. The samples will undergo laboratory analysis, and further action will depend on the test results and the responses of the establishments concerned.
TG SAFE has issued four improvement notices and three show-cause notices to the establishments. Officials said further enforcement action could be taken if laboratory results confirm violations or if the restaurants fail to comply with the notices.
The department said restaurants must maintain proper hygiene, safe food storage, correct labelling and pest-free premises or face action under food safety regulations.
The latest inspections are part of a wider food safety enforcement campaign being carried out by TG SAFE in Hyderabad.
Just days earlier, the authority inspected 32 sweet and savoury units, collected 35 samples and seized around 15 tonnes of food articles worth Rs 30 lakh. The licence of one sweet shop was also suspended.
