Telangana Food Safety team raids 83 places in Hyderabad and finds lapses in 68

In recent days, the Telangana Food Safety Department has conducted inspections of numerous restaurants throughout Hyderabad. On May 23, 2024, officials paid a visit to the city’s Madhapur area.

They raided several locations, including an outlet of the popular Bengaluru-based brand, The Rameshwaram Cafe. They discovered several expired and mislabeled food items at the establishment. These included 100 kilograms of urad dal, which allegedly expired in March 2024, as well as 10 kilograms of expired curds and 8 litres of expired milk.

These were not the only violations discovered on the premises of The Rameshwaram Cafe in Madhapur. The food safety department also seized 450 kilos of raw rice and 20 kilos of white lobia because they were improperly labeled. The department reported a total cost of ₹ 26000 for these items. Unlabeled 300 kilos of jaggery worth ₹30,000 were seized. Furthermore, food handlers were unable to show their Medical Fitness Certificates. The officials also discovered that the restaurant’s dustbins did not have proper lids.

The Rameshwaram Cafe is a well-known chain of South Indian restaurants in Bengaluru, with multiple locations. It is said to be popular with both locals and tourists. Several celebrities have previously been spotted at one of the Bengaluru locations, including Kartik Aaryan, Navya Naveli Nanda, and Chef Gary Mehigan.

The food safety department’s inspection team also visited Baahubali Kitchen in the Madhapur neighbourhood on the same day. The raid at this eating establishment revealed numerous violations, including the use of synthetic food colors, a heavy cockroach infestation, a lack of Pest Control Records, unsanitary kitchen conditions, improper food storage in the refrigerator, and other issues. The officials could not find the Medical Fitness Certificate for Food Handlers at the restaurant. Furthermore, the actual copy of the establishment’s FSSAI license was not displayed.

The founders of The Rameshwaram Cafe, Divya Raghavendra Rao and Raghavendra Rao, have taken note of the food safety department’s actions at the Hyderabad location. In a statement, they said, “We are already looking into the matter and have ordered an internal investigation to verify the facts and assess each outlet.” We continue to cooperate fully with the authorities in order to resolve the situation.

From a consumption standpoint, our Hyderabad outlet alone requires over 500 kgs of urad dal weekly, 300 litres of milk daily, and 80 to 100 litres of curd daily. The discovered stocks were sealed and left unattended, with the intention of being shipped rather than consumed. We follow all material procurement laws and source high-quality products from the best vendors. The law does not prohibit the use of unlabeled products. The founders stated that “some reports have falsely claimed that cockroaches were found in our kitchen. The official report does not mention this; in fact, the cockroaches were discovered at a different restaurant, not Rameshwaram Cafe.

To maintain our standards, we conduct daily deep cleaning and pest control once a month at our cafe. In addition, we would like to clarify that we have not received a show-cause notice from the authorities and will continue to fully cooperate with them. We have also ordered hygiene and standard checks for all of our outlets across the states, demonstrating our strong commitment to providing consumers with the best in the category. We have always believed that maintaining certain food and service standards is critical to winning the hearts and souls of our customers, and we will stop at nothing to make that happen.”

Prior to this, Telangana’s food safety department raided restaurants in Hyderabad’s Banjara Hills and Somajiguda areas. Again, they discovered numerous violations at Labonel Fine Baking, Baskin Robbins, Kritunga – The Palegar’s Cuisine, and other establishments.