“Fear,” says the middle-aged manager of a Udupi restaurant in Hyderabad’s Begumpet, describing what’s driving a dramatic shift in the city’s restaurant landscape. “There is a fear of surprise audits. One hundred per cent,” he exclaims, reflecting on the wave of inspections and raids by Telangana’s Food Safety Department over the last six months that have left eateries grappling with heightened scrutiny.
From Udupi joints to biryani hotspots, restaurant owners and staff are adapting to stricter hygiene standards while voicing concerns about the challenges of compliance.
“These inspections deter unhygienic sanitary conditions prevailing in most hotels. No one can ensure hundred per cent hygiene or foolproof operations but one should at least try,” says the manager who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that his hotel too was inspected and a cockroach was found in a plate of upma. The incident prompted immediate corrective measures, including nightly use of roach repellents.
A melting pot of cultures, Hyderabad is celebrated for its culinary diversity. From biryani and haleem to kebabs and Qubani ka Meetha, Hyderabadi food is influenced by Mughalai, Persian, and Andhra food traditions. While restaurants that date back to the Nizam era continue to sway customers with their age-old dishes, over the years, street food vendors and trucks have become a go-to place for both locals and tourists.
But the sudden raids at popular eateries have brought the city’s food hygiene standards under a scanner, generating considerable anxiety among hotel and restaurant owners.
“It is not possible to follow the rules of the textbook. There are operational challenges. No one wants to serve bad food or provide unhygienic surroundings. In the restaurant business, we can do only to the best possible extent,” says a staff member of a popular biryani restaurant located in Banjara Hills.
Over the years, street food vendors and trucks have become a go-to place for both locals and tourists. (Express photo/Rahul V Pisharody)
Since March this year, the food safety department has conducted 4366 inspections and collected 3,300 food samples. In cases of severe violations (such as the use of rotten meat and vegetables or harmful food colours), 56 prosecution cases have been filed. A total of Rs 66 lakh has been collected in penalties, according to the data available with the department till November. Four licences have been suspended in the last six months.
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As per procedure, food safety officers inspect the premises, collect samples, and issue improvement notices when violations are noticed. There is a provision for adjudication and levying penalties in such cases. If samples are found unsafe for consumption, prosecution cases are filed against the food business operator.
Some of the critical violations have left the officials alarmed. For instance, some restaurants were found storing raw meat, partially cooked meat, and marinated meat in freezers for up to a month, while some were found to be using synthetic powders and artificial food colours that are unsafe for consumption. Some of the reputed establishments were found to be using labels of manufacturing details with advance dates, while some others were using expired products, especially in the case of fast-moving perishable goods.
Task force team has conducted inspections in Lakdikapul area on 26.11.2024.
2013-05-20 10:00:00 AM
* The FBO is operating the food business without valid FSSAI license.
* Leftover food from the previous day was found in kitchen and hence discarded on the… pic.twitter.com/giPAw5fJQD
— Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana (@cfs_telangana) November 27, 2024
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Inspections now extend beyond restaurants to include supermarkets, kirana stores, cloud kitchens, and catering businesses. The department is also tackling food adulteration at the manufacturing level. Officials emphasise that the exercise is not punitive but aims to empower consumers to make informed choices about where to eat.
The department has initiated voluntary hygiene ratings for restaurants where a third-party agency could rate a food business operator and has also started registering street food vendors. “About 3500 vendors are registered so far. We will soon take up a special drive. At least 20,000 to 30,000 more vendors are expected to apply for registration. This will give confidence to the public regarding eating on the streets,” says Dr C Sivaleela, Director, Telangana Department of Food Safety and chief of the enforcement team for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation area.
Task force team has conducted inspections in Lakdikapul area on 26.11.2024.
2013-05-20 10:00:00 AM
* The FBO is operating the food business without valid FSSAI license.
* Leftover food from the previous day was found in kitchen and hence discarded on the… pic.twitter.com/giPAw5fJQD
— Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana (@cfs_telangana) November 27, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
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“We want Hyderabad to become the food capital of India. The city is a great gastronomic treat to the people and we want to ensure that,” RV Karnan, the commissioner of food safety, tells indianexpress.com.
‘Need to create awareness on dos and don’ts’
While some in the industry welcome the inspections, others argue they are creating undue panic thanks to social media.
“The negative news that social media channels spread is creating a fear among people eating out. They are driving away tourists to other destinations. This is affecting our tourism and hospitality sector,” says MA Majeed, proprietor of the popular restaurant chain Pista House.
Amey Marathe, vice-president of the Telangana Chefs Association, likens inspections to taking a test without establishing the rules or imparting education. “If one business wants to be 100 per cent compliant, they could do that. The problem is a lot of them do not know where they need to be compliant,” he says.
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K Balaji Raju, retired assistant food controller, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, believes that more training needs to be imparted by the department in coordination with business operators and their workforce. He says there are provisions under the FSSAI rules to train the workforce in a phased manner regarding procurement, storage, and operations. “Such training needs to be done more for all establishments. There is a need for more staff and food testing laboratories in the state. At present, there is only one state lab. We need more mobile food testing labs in addition to the five existing mobile labs. There are about 80 food safety officers in the state. A state like Telangana should have about 200 FSOs. They need to create a lot of awareness on dos and don’ts,” he says.
In October, the state government announced a one-year ban on mayonnaise made with raw eggs. The ban was imposed in response to a rise in food poisoning cases linked to raw egg mayonnaise. “The problem is not with egg mayonnaise but probably with the way it was stored. If tomorrow bad chicken or paneer causes food poisoning cases, are we going to ban them too? That’s why there is a need for providing education and training to all,” adds Marathe.
Dr Sivaleela says the government has already decided on the establishment of three more state food laboratories at Warangal, Nizamabad, and Mahabubnagar. Soon, three more mobile food safety labs will be added to the existing fleet of five mobile labs whereas the department has sought for another ten mobile labs. She says the government has also recruited 24 new FSOs, with which each district in the state would have an FSO.
At present, the state laboratory at Nacharam takes up about 600 food samples for analysis on an average month. “Keeping any establishment hygienic is not a one-day activity. It is a continuous process and our intention is not to create panic, penalise violators or suspend licenses. In the last six months, there is a visible change on the ground in terms of personal hygiene and sanitation and more needs to be done,” she says.
