Dominos at Sarath City Mall, Inorbit to shut after food safety raid

Hyderabad: The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) has suspended the FSSAI licences of nine outlets of KFC and Domino’s Pizza in the CURE region following inspections that revealed serious food safety violations, including cockroach infestation, expired food products, rat droppings and the unauthorised use of a chemical to filter used cooking oil for reuse.

A special enforcement drive was conducted by 13 teams comprising Food Safety Officers and police personnel, which inspected 26 outlets of the two popular fast-food chains across the region.

During the inspections, officials found several violations, including food handlers working without hairnets and aprons, housefly and cockroach infestation, expired food articles, rat faeces, foul smell in kitchens and storage areas, and unhygienic food preparation conditions.

One of the major violations detected was the unauthorised use of synthetic magnesium silicate to filter used cooking oil for reuse. Officials seized approximately 52 kg of the chemical during the inspections.

As part of the enforcement action, 20 food samples were collected on suspicion of adulteration. Improvement notices will be issued to eight outlets, while show-cause notices will be served on five others for serious violations. Further action, including penalties, will be initiated based on the nature of the violations and compliance.

Nine KFC, Dominos outlets asked to shut

The nine outlets whose Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licences have been suspended have been directed to immediately stop business operations in the interest of public health.

The suspended outlets include KFC branches at Madinaguda-Miyapur, Sindhi Colony, Charminar, Moosarambagh, Banjara Hills, Shilpa Kala Vedika in Hitech City and Inorbit Mall, Madhapur. The two Domino’s outlets are located at Sarath City Mall, Kondapur, and Inorbit Mall, Madhapur.

Rat droppings, expired products found

The violations at these outlets ranged from water leakage, foul smell and cockroach infestation to expired products, unclean kitchen equipment, fungal growth, waterlogging in chillers and the presence of rat droppings. Some outlets were also found using magnesium silicate to filter used oil.

TG SAFE will share details of the suspended establishments with online food delivery platforms, including Swiggy and Zomato, for their delisting until their FSSAI licences are restored.

Officials said the establishments would be subjected to further scrutiny and appropriate action would be taken based on compliance with food safety standards.

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