FSSAI suspends 7 KFC outlets in Hyderabad over hygiene violations: cockroaches, rat droppings found

The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG-SAFE) suspended the FSSAI licences of seven KFC outlets in Hyderabad on November 12, 2026, ordering them to halt operations immediately after a special enforcement drive uncovered cockroach infestations, rat droppings, fungal growth on walls, greasy utensils and the use of magnesium silicate, a substance not permitted under Indian food safety regulations, to filter and reuse cooking oil.

KFC in India is operated by Devyani International and Sapphire Foods India, both of which hold master franchise rights from Yum! Brands. Neither company had issued a public statement at the time of writing.

What the inspections found

TG-SAFE deployed 13 teams, each comprising food safety officers and police personnel, to inspect 26 fast-food outlets across the CURE (Central, Urban, Rural and Eastern) region of Hyderabad. The sweep took place on a single day, November 12, 2026.

At several outlets, inspectors documented:

• Live cockroaches and houseflies in food preparation areas
• Rat droppings in storage zones
• Fungal growth on kitchen walls
• Greasy, unclean utensils and food preparation equipment
• Food products stored or used past their expiry dates
• Magnesium silicate being used to filter degraded cooking oil for reuse

Magnesium silicate is a mineral compound sometimes used industrially as an adsorbent. Its use to recycle frying oil is not approved under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. Repeatedly reused frying oil accumulates polar compounds and trans fats; filtering it with an unapproved substance does not restore it to a safe condition and may introduce additional contaminants.

The seven outlets whose licences were suspended are at Madinaguda-Miyapur, Sindhi Colony (Secunderabad), Punch Mohalla (Charminar), Moosarambagh, Banjara Hills, Shilpa Kala Vedika (Hitec City) and Inorbit Mall (Madhapur).

Four additional KFC outlets, at Sarath City Mall (Kondapur), Karkhana, Himayatnagar and Shaikpet, received improvement notices rather than outright suspensions. They will be reinspected to confirm whether the flagged deficiencies have been corrected. Two more outlets, at Nizampet and Gachibowli, face show-cause notices over what authorities described as serious violations; penalties will depend on the responses received.

Why this matters

This action is part of a broader enforcement pattern in Hyderabad. Just days before the KFC sweep, TG-SAFE shut eight other food outlets in the city, including a Biryani By Kilo location and an ITC Aashirvaad-linked outlet, after similar raids turned up cockroaches, rodents and spoiled food, according to Mint's earlier coverage.

The KFC case is notable for two reasons beyond the pest findings. First, the magnesium silicate issue points to a deliberate cost-cutting practice, not an accidental lapse. Frying oil is expensive; filtering and reusing it extends its life but, when done with unapproved chemicals, creates a food safety risk that is invisible to the consumer. Second, the scale, seven licence suspensions at a single branded chain in one city on one day, is unusual and signals that TG-SAFE is moving beyond token inspections.

For consumers who care about what goes into their food, the violations here are not about additives on a label. They are about basic sanitation and the integrity of cooking inputs. A restaurant can carry a clean-looking menu and still serve food prepared in a contaminated kitchen with recycled oil.

The same enforcement drive also caught Bakingo's Madhapur outlet using cake bases that had expired on November 10, 2026, to prepare cakes sold with a shelf life declared until November 12. Officials discarded 60 kg of the expired bases on the spot. Bakingo is a Delhi-based bakery chain with outlets across several Indian cities.

What you should do

If you visited any of the seven suspended KFC outlets in Hyderabad between now and the date of the inspection, there is no formal recall or health advisory in place at this time. FSSAI has not published a consumer alert on its website. If you experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms after eating at these locations, report them to your doctor and file a complaint at the FSSAI consumer grievance portal.

Before eating at any quick-service restaurant, you can check whether its FSSAI licence is active using the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) at foscos.fssai.gov.in. Every licensed food business is required to display its FSSAI licence number on-site. If a licence number is absent or the outlet cannot produce it on request, that is a ground for a consumer complaint.

On the cooking oil question: there is no way for a diner to detect whether a restaurant is using magnesium silicate-filtered oil. The only lever available to consumers is to ask management directly about their oil change frequency and to report suspicions to TG-SAFE or FSSAI. TG-SAFE's enforcement drive was triggered by a structured inspection programme, not a consumer tip, but complaints do feed into risk-based targeting of future raids.

For those who cook at home, the KFC case is a reminder that frying oil has a finite safe life regardless of filtering. The FSSAI recommends not reusing oil more than three to four times and discarding it when it darkens, smokes at lower temperatures or develops an off smell. No home filtering agent, including commercially sold ones, restores oil to its original quality.