On September 20, 2024, a task force representing Telangana’s Commissioner of Food Safety visited Hyderabad’s Panjagutta area to inspect food establishments. The officials have revealed that they are going to take strict action against one of them specifically. Several food safety violations came to light when they visited Jalpaan restaurant in Somajiguda. But what made matters worse was the lack of cooperation from those at the eating joint. The task force stated that the “FBO [Food Business Operator] did not provide access to the store room despite repeated requests”. It has thus decided to take action “for non-cooperation” according to the provisions of the FSS Act, 2006.
The restaurant was found to be following some of the protocols. For instance, it had displayed a true copy of its FSSAI License on the premises. It has maintained records such as the Medical Fitness Certificates for food handlers & Pest Control Records for the premises. The handlers were wearing hair caps and aprons, the team noted. However, the water analysis reports for the bottled water used for cooking were found to be unavailable. There were numerous other issues too. The officials stated that the refrigerator was in a highly unhygienic condition, as was the mesh fitted to the window (it had pigeon droppings). There were clogged drains and water stagnation on the premises. In the kitchen, the task force discovered expired ingredients such as mushrooms, sesame oil, packed poha and milk packets. They got rid of them. They also noted that some semi-cooked food items had coverings but lacked labelling.
On the same day, the team inspected Meridian Restaurant in Panjagutta. The establishment was found to be adhering to some of the regulations. The officials noted that the FSSAI License’s true copy was displayed prominently and that the food handlers were wearing hair caps and aprons. The FBO had also maintained several of the requisite records including Medical Fitness Certificates for food handlers, Pest Control Records for the premises, temperature records for the refrigerators and water analysis reports for the RO water used for cooking. Additionally, there were two FoSTaC-trained supervisors present at the restaurant.
However, the task force discovered some violations as well. Semi-prepared food kept in the refrigerator did not have proper labels. There was water stagnation in the drain near the biryani preparation area. The officials made note of “possible water seepage suspected at one point on the ceiling inside kitchen premises”. Additionally, they found that windows at two points lacked insect-proof screens – but the others had been fitted with mesh.
