Hyderabad: Crackdown on restaurants continues, food safety teams detect irregularities

Hyderabad: The Task Force team of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), along with the GHMC Food Safety officers, continued inspections at warehouses and restaurants in Hyderabad on Friday to identify irregularities. In a bold move, the team suspended the licence of the Big Basket warehouse.

The officers inspected the Big Basket warehouse located in Masjid Banda, Kondapur. They found expired chicken masala, chicken sausages, pizza cheese, paneer, ice cream, and almond fudge, elidable oil leakage, and contaminated food articles.

Ten milk bottles, ten thick shake bottles, and 50 sting tins were kept not as per storage conditions and food and non-food items were stored together. In light of this violation, notices have been issued, and the licence of the warehouse has been suspended until further orders.

Earlier, the food safety officers raided Rameshwaram Cafe and Baahubali Kitchen, located in Madhapur. At Rameshwaram Cafe, they found 100 kg of expired urad dal stock. Additionally, 10 kg of Nandini Curd and eight litres of milk were found to be expired. Moreover, 450 kg of improperly labelled raw rice, 20 kg of white lobia, a total worth Rs 26,000, and 300 kg of jaggery worth Rs 30,000 were seized. The dustbins on the premises were not properly covered with lids. The medical fitness certificates for food handlers were not available.

At Baahubali Kitchen, a heavy cockroach infestation was observed in the kitchen. Cockroaches were also found on food articles inside the storeroom. Synthetic food colours were found and discarded. The kitchen was found to be unhygienic, and water stagnation was observed in the cleaning area. Pest control records and medical fitness certificates were not found, and the FSSAI licence was not displayed.