Hans News Service Hyderabad

A series of raids by the Food Safety Department in Hyderabad uncovered multiple food safety violations at seven food establishments, from the use of expired food ingredients and unhygienic kitchen conditions to improper storage practices. Authorities disposed of unsafe food items, temporary suspension of operations and action to suspend an FSSAI licence to the hotel in Gachibowli.

On Friday, at Rebel Foods Private Limited (Cloud Kitchen) in Kondapur, which operates brands, including Oven Story, Behrouz, Faasos, Sweet Truth, Wendy’s and LunchBox, inspectors found expired curd packets and expired Indian gravy stored on the premises.

Officials also found mint chaas prepared using expired curd, while the wash area was unhygienic. Medical fitness certificates of food handlers were suspected to have been altered and did not reflect actual medical test results.

During the inspection of Burger King at Puppalaguda, officials observed oil leakage from kitchen equipment, poorly cleaned storage crates and the absence of food testing reports and packaging records.

At KFC in Alkapur Township, Manikonda, inspectors reported water stagnation and foul odour in the wash area. Four packs of cut lettuce that were found to be not fresh were discarded immediately. The outlet has been served with directions to rectify the deficiencies through an improvement notice.

The inspection at Fire Water Neo Bar & Kitchen in Nanakramguda revealed several serious violations, including unlabelled raw food items, an expired pack of mushrooms, unsupported shelf-life declarations for prepared food, absence of water testing for cooking and beverage ice. Unlabelled food items were discarded on the spot, and an improvement notice will be issued.

Earlier on Thursday, at Alsaba Restaurant in Gachibowli, inspectors found meat stored under improper freezer conditions, water stagnation in the wash area, unhygienic worker washrooms, lack of hot-water sanitisation of utensils, rumali roti being prepared adjacent to unclean washrooms with fly infestation and an unhygienic slaughtering area.

Authorities initiated action to suspend the restaurant’s FSSAI licence and directed the establishment to remain closed until all violations are rectified and compliance is verified.

The inspection of Zepto at Narsingi found poor overall hygiene, with dirt accumulation on racks, crates, flooring, walls and ceilings. Officials also noted improper positioning of the Pest-o-Flash unit in the fruits and vegetables section, food bags stored without pallets, food waste scattered on racks and floors, improper segregation of food and non-food items, non-display of the FSSAI licence and unclean air curtains.