Telangana’s food safety authority has suspended the licences of four Hyderabad eateries and ordered them to stop operations immediately after inspections found serious hygiene and food-handling violations. The action followed checks at 13 restaurants and canteens across several commercial and residential areas of the city.
The establishments named by officials are NR’s Nandini Sudha at Chikkadpally, Sai Darshini and Universal Restaurant at Vengal Rao Nagar, and Harsha Delux Mess at Ameerpet. Their licences were suspended after enforcement teams reported conditions including pest infestations, poor sanitation, water stagnation and unsafe food-storage practices.
Seven enforcement teams, comprising Food Safety Officers and police personnel, conducted inspections in Ameerpet, Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Chikkadpally, Hafeezpet and Vengal Rao Nagar. Officials reported damaged and slippery floors, greasy walls and exhausts, foul-smelling kitchens and unhygienic washing areas at the inspected premises.
The teams also found food handlers working without hairnets and aprons, as well as missing health and pest-control records. In some establishments, vegetarian and non-vegetarian food was stored together in refrigerators. Officials further reported that some food articles did not carry proper labels, raising concerns about traceability and food-handling compliance.
TG SAFE collected 16 food samples on suspicion of adulteration. The samples will form part of further enforcement proceedings, while the establishments face additional action based on the inspection findings and subsequent compliance checks.
Absolute Barbeque in Jubilee Hills will receive an improvement notice, according to officials. Show-cause notices will be issued to seven other establishments over the reported violations. These notices give the establishments an opportunity to respond to the findings before further enforcement action is taken.
The inspections illustrate the range of conditions food safety teams examine beyond the food served to customers, including kitchen sanitation, pest control, worker hygiene, storage separation, labelling and the maintenance of mandatory records. In a city where restaurants, messes and canteens serve large numbers of residents every day, these controls are central to reducing public exposure to contaminated or improperly handled food.
Officials said the establishments would be reinspected to verify whether the reported violations had been corrected. Further action, including penalties, will follow based on the findings and the outcome of the compliance process.
