Hyderabad: Food safety teams smell a rat, raid errant city hotels, eateries

Hyderabad: The Task force team of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) along with GHMC’s Food safety officer has conducted a series of inspections at popular eateries and found adulteration and other illegal practices.

The task force team conducted inspections of top restaurants, including Kritunga – The Palegar’s Cuisine Restaurant, Hotel Sai Brundavan, Master Chef Restaurant, Rest O Bar, and KFC. It found unhygienic food storage and expired food.

In Kritunga, famous for its spicy food, about 6 kg of Ganga Gold paneer worth Rs 2,100 was found in sealed packets. It had no FSSAI licence or logo. Expired 6 kg methi malai paste worth Rs 1,800 discarded on the spot. Around 156 units of one litre water bottles of Kritunga Palegar’s brand, worth Rs 7,800, contained a TDS value of just 4 ppm which is not usable. Samples were sent to laboratory for analysis. A non-vegetarian paste worth Rs 648 and citric acid-containing packets worth Rs 150 were found without proper labels.

Officials also found semi-cooked raw food articles stored inside a refrigerator. It was not properly labelled or covered. The kitchen premises were found open to the outside environment without proper mesh/barrier to avoid entry of pests or flies. Dustbins were found open without lids.

At Master Chef, officials found usage of synthetic food colours which were discarded on the spot. Four expired Vijaya Milk packets, 65 kg unlabelled ginger garlic paste and bakery items were discarded.

At Sai Brundavan, officials found usage of synthetic food colours which were discarded on the spot. About 144kg of misbranded jaggery and 4 kg of cashew worth Rs 13,000 were seized for not having proper label on packs. Analysis report for water (cooking/drinking) was not available. The refrigerator was in very unhygienic condition with improperly stored semi-prepared food. Food handlers without haircaps, gloves, aprons and medical fitness certificates were seen. A few other hygiene-related issues also were found.

A major restaurant where raids were conducted was the Headquarters Rest O Bar, Somajiguda. Officials found 50 pizza bases worth Rs 400 along with five packets of garlic bread worth Rs 800 and five kg noodles worth Rs 400 were found to have no labels and were unsealed. They were discarded on the spot. Food articles stored in refrigerator were not labelled properly. Those handling food items were found without safety wear like hair caps, gloves and aprons.

The kitchen premises was found with open dustbins and no proper mesh to keep pests and flies away. Food handlers did not have a medical fitness certificate with the FBO. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian food was stored together in the refrigerator. The usage of synthetic food colours was found.

Another major restaurant raided was KFC, Somajiguda. Officials found true copy of FSSAI licence was not displayed.