TG SAFE's September 10, 2026 sweep across 21 Hyderabad eateries found pest infestations, spoiled meat, and expired food. Four outlets lost their FSSAI licences; Sarvi Food Court and others face show-cause notices.
The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) suspended the FSSAI licences of four Hyderabad food businesses on September 10, 2026, after ten enforcement teams inspected 21 restaurants, bakeries, sweet shops, hotels, and hostels in a single-day drive. The suspended outlets — Lakshmi Sri Balaji Sweets and Bakery, Girl Friend Mandi, Kholani's Fine Dine Restaurant, and Kakatiya Tiffins Meals and Snacks — were directed to stop operations immediately.
The inspection, conducted jointly by Food Safety Officers and police personnel, covered establishments in Banjara Hills, Lakdikapool, and surrounding areas. TG SAFE also ran a parallel state-wide sweep of 46 food businesses, suspending licences of M/s Mahendra Meals Biryani and Curry Point in Station Ghanpur, Sri Balaji Magic Mithai in Baopet (Karimnagar), and M/s Cha Cha Family Dabha on NH-65 at Tupranpet in Choutuppal, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district.
What the inspectors found
The violations recorded across the inspected sites ranged from the mundane to the serious. Officers found cockroach, housefly, and rodent infestations at multiple premises. Spoiled and rotten vegetables and pest-infested food articles were discarded on the spot. Inspectors also flagged unclean refrigerators, expired food articles, poor personal hygiene among food handlers, and inadequate segregation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.
Labelling failures were another recurring problem. Under FSSAI regulations, packaged food sold or used in food service must carry complete ingredient declarations, allergen information, and batch details. Poor record maintenance at several outlets suggests that traceability — knowing where ingredients came from and when they were received — was not in place.
Thirteen food samples were collected on suspicion of adulteration and sent for laboratory analysis. Results from those tests have not been published yet; TG SAFE is expected to initiate further proceedings once lab reports are available.
Sarvi Food Court (Banjara Hills), a long-standing name in Hyderabad's biryani and Mughlai dining scene, along with Casa Laban (Banjara Hills) and Dakini Sweet Treats (Banjara Hills), received show-cause notices. The Central Court Hotel in Lakdikapul was also served a show-cause notice. These establishments face financial penalties based on the violations recorded.
A second tier of action — improvement notices with mandatory re-inspection — was issued to 7 Sisters Restaurant, Habitat Cafe, The Nawab's Restaurant, Keshava Reddy Sweets, Seasons Express Restaurant, and All Seasons Restaurant in Banjara Hills, plus Sri Venkateshwara Lodge and Ashoka Hotel in Lakdikapool. If re-inspection finds the lapses uncorrected, TG SAFE can escalate to show-cause notices or licence suspension.
Why this matters for diners and home cooks
Food safety enforcement in India operates under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules and regulations framed under it by FSSAI. TG SAFE is Telangana's designated food authority responsible for licensing, inspection, and enforcement within the state. Licence suspension under Section 55 of the FSS Act is one of the more serious tools available: it bars an establishment from operating until compliance is demonstrated and the licence is reinstated.
For diners, the violations found here are not abstract regulatory failures. Cockroach and rodent infestations in food preparation areas are direct contamination risks. Spoiled meat and vegetables, if served, can cause foodborne illness ranging from gastroenteritis to more severe bacterial infections. Inadequate vegetarian-non-vegetarian segregation is a specific concern for consumers who follow vegetarian, Jain, or other dietary restrictions and rely on restaurants to maintain those boundaries.
The adulteration samples are worth watching. FSSAI's definition of adulteration covers a wide range of practices: adding inferior substances to bulk up a product, using non-permitted colours or preservatives, and misrepresenting the nature of an ingredient. Until lab results are published, it is not possible to say what specific adulteration is suspected at which outlet.
The state-wide sweep — 46 establishments inspected beyond the Hyderabad city drive — signals that TG SAFE is running coordinated enforcement rather than isolated spot checks. Highway dhabas and small-town sweet shops are often lower on the inspection frequency list, so the inclusion of outlets in Karimnagar and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts is notable.
What to do before your next restaurant visit
FSSAI requires all licensed food businesses to display their licence certificate at the premises. When you walk into a restaurant, the licence should be visible, usually near the entrance or the billing counter. Check that it is current and has not expired. An expired or suspended licence is a clear signal to leave.
For vegetarian, vegan, or Jain diners, the segregation failures found in this inspection are a reminder that verbal assurances from staff are not a substitute for visible separation of cooking equipment, storage, and service. Ask specifically whether the kitchen uses shared utensils or cooking surfaces for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.
If you witness a hygiene violation at a licensed food establishment in Telangana, you can file a complaint directly with TG SAFE or use FSSAI's national consumer complaint portal at https://foscos.fssai.gov.in. Complaints can also be lodged through the FSSAI mobile app.
For home cooks sourcing from sweet shops or bakeries, the expired food articles finding is a reminder to check manufacturing and best-before dates on packaged sweets, especially during festival seasons when stock turnover at smaller shops can be unpredictable. Packaged mithai sold loose from a tray has no label, which makes it impossible to verify freshness independently.
TG SAFE has said re-inspections of the improvement-notice recipients will follow, and penalty proceedings for show-cause notice recipients are underway. The four suspended outlets remain closed until further notice.