Antera shut; notices to Shah Ghouse & other eateries over hygiene lapses
Hyderabad: The FSSAI licences of 11 restaurants in Gachibowli, Hitec City and Madhapur were suspended by Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) on Saturday, and the restaurants were ordered to stop operations immediately over serious hygiene and other violations. At the Fusion 9/Amnesia Sky Bar found, cockroach infestation and rat faeces were found inside the premises. Show-cause notices were served on White Elephant Food Works (63 degrees), Minerva Grand at Kondapur and Hotel Avasa at Hitec City, with penalties to be considered.
Moreover, there was improper refrigerator storage with no labelling of veg and non-veg stored together,” said a food safety official. “In the kitchen, there was unlabeled and expired food; spoiled with fungus-contaminated vegetables (carrots noted); and absence of FOSTAC-trained supervisors and water analysis reports,” added the official. “At Al Saba Restaurant, officials specifically found staff chewing gutka, with cigarette buds and gutka packets present in the kitchen along with stains in some areas,” said the official.
Among the other eight are Shivani – The Restaurant and Bar and Al Saba (Gachibowli) Lucky Multicuisine, Sai Ram Mess, Udupi’s Upahar (Madhapur) and Coal Spark, Kanchi Cafe, Monastery in Hitec City. “At Antera bar and kitchen, there was spoiled and fungus-contaminated vegetables, expired food along with cockroach infestation. The kitchen and wash areas were unhygienic with broken tiles and greasy walls and floor. Drains were blocked. Moreover, in several of these restaurant kitchens, staff and food handlers were not maintaining proper hygiene and were missing mandatory health/pest-control records. Common violations across these restaurants included rodent infestation, rat-damaged packaged item, expired and fungus-contaminated food, unhygienic kitchens and refrigerators, unhygienic kitchens and refrigerators. Moreover, officials issued improvement notices to six eateries – Rameshwaram Café (Madhapur), Ishtaa (Gachibowli), Sahibs Barbeque and Pakka Local (Hitec City), and Hotel Shadab and Shah Ghouse (Gachibowli) – to fix lapses, with re-inspections to follow.