Food shops at MG Bus Station in Hyderabad found violating safety and hygiene norms

The Food Safety Commissioner of Telangana visited the MG Bus Station in Hyderabad’s Imbibun area on September 10, 2024. The task force inspected several food outlets at the location and found serious violations. First, at Nandini Cafeteria, officials found bad flooring, water stagnation, open washroom doors, windows without insect-proof screens, 20 kg of suspected contaminated lime pickle and unlabelled and open food inside the refrigerator. The food handlers were not wearing aprons and hair caps. That’s not all. The task force seized 50 kg of toor dal and 50 kg of packed coriander as they were found “without proper labels such as date of packing and date of use.” It was also observed that raw food materials such as flour and dal were “kept directly on the floor, with no gap maintained between the items and the walls.” Additionally, an iron stand placed above the area for preparing rice was found to be rusted. [Food Business Operator] The company failed to maintain the required records of pest control and medical fitness certificate. The company also did not display a copy of its FSSAI licence at a prominent place.

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At Yagnesh Virat Food Court, officials found flies in the kitchen, overflowing dustbins without lids and unlabeled utensils in the fridge. They found that the premises were “open to the outside environment” and there were no insect-proof screens. In addition, the establishment did not have the required medical fitness certificate and pest control records at the time of inspection.

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The task force also inspected stall number 24 at the MG bus station. They found that the FBO was running its business without an FSSAI licence. Medical fitness and pest control records were not available. According to officials, the kitchen premises were “found in extremely unhygienic condition”. The dustbins were “filled with dirt” and flies were hovering around them. Spider webs were seen near the storage area. There were problems with the food too. The team removed synthetic food colours, which they found out were being used in Chinese dishes. Also, cooked rice and flour were not stored properly, as they were not labelled and covered.

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The task force then inspected Raghavendra Bakery and Fast Food. The FBO did not provide a copy of its FSSAI licence at the time of inspection. Medical fitness certificate and pest control records were also not available. The team noticed broken tiles, slippery walls, live cockroach infestation in the kitchen, windows without insect screens and food handlers without hair caps and aprons. Synthetic colours were being used in Chinese food and hence they were thrown away. The refrigerator was in unhygienic condition. The food kept inside it did not have labels and covers. Other food items like rice and flour, which were kept outside, were kept directly on the floor, officials said.

A day before these inspections, the task force visited tiffin centres and hostels in Ashok Nagar area of ​​Hyderabad. Widespread food safety violations were found in these establishments. Click here to read the full report.