Hyderabad mall food safety audit uncovers expired stock and hygiene lapses at multiplex vendors

Food safety inspections by the Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) on June 19, 2026 found expired food items, spoiled produce, improperly stored cooked meat, and multiple hygiene violations at multiplex food counters inside three Hyderabad malls, according to a report by The Hindu.

The CMC food safety teams conducted the surprise inspections on the same day across PVR Inox at Inorbit Mall, Cinepolis at Lulu Mall, and Inox at GSM Mall in Madeenaguda. The audits covered storage practices, labelling compliance, cooking oil quality, housekeeping, and documentation. All three venues had violations serious enough to require on-the-spot corrective action or formal notice.

What the inspectors found at each venue

At PVR Inox in Inorbit Mall, officials seized and discarded expired sev and spoiled cauliflower. Inspectors also noted poor housekeeping around the soft drink dispensing area, labelling discrepancies on certain food items, and cooked chicken tikka stored in a freezer. Storing cooked, ready-to-eat meat in a freezer alongside raw or unrelated frozen goods is a cross-contamination risk under FSSAI's Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, which require clear separation and temperature logging for cooked protein products.

At Cinepolis in Lulu Mall, the inspection found dustbins without lids, discarded boiled pasta that had been stored in a freezer, and open frozen food products that had not been resealed before storage. The cola dispensing counter also needed housekeeping attention. The most technically significant finding here was the total polar compounds (TPC) level of used cooking oil, recorded at 21.5. TPC is a measure of oil degradation: FSSAI's Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011 set a maximum TPC limit of 25 percent for edible oils used in frying. A reading of 21.5 is within the legal ceiling but close enough to warrant attention, particularly for a high-volume cinema food counter where oil turnover should be frequent.

At Inox in GSM Mall, Madeenaguda, inspectors found incomplete labelling on burger buns and sandwich bread, and uncovered dustbins at the coffee and sandwich counters. The most procedurally significant issue here: chicken tikka used as an ingredient had been assigned a three-day shelf life by the outlet without any supporting technical records to justify that figure. Inspectors also found that records for water quality testing (for water used in beverage preparation) and packaging material testing were not produced during the inspection. Under FSSAI's Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, food business operators are required to maintain documented evidence of water quality and packaging safety. Failing to produce these records during an inspection is itself a compliance failure, regardless of whether the underlying tests were done.

Why this matters for mall food buyers

Multiplex food counters occupy a regulatory grey zone in practice. They are licensed food businesses subject to FSSAI oversight, but they operate inside private mall premises where day-to-day monitoring is inconsistent. Consumers typically assume that a branded multiplex chain (PVR Inox is owned by PVR Inox Ltd, India's largest cinema exhibition company; Cinepolis is the Indian arm of Mexico-based Cinepolis Group) has standardised food safety systems. These inspections show that assumption does not hold at the outlet level.

The labelling violations are worth noting separately. FSSAI's Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 require that pre-packaged food sold at retail carry a complete label including the name of the food, ingredient list, allergen declarations, net quantity, date of manufacture, best-before or use-by date, and the name and address of the manufacturer or packer. Incomplete labelling on burger buns and sandwich bread means buyers cannot check allergen information or expiry dates, which is a direct consumer harm for anyone managing a wheat allergy, egg intolerance, or other dietary restriction.

The chicken tikka shelf-life issue at Inox GSM Mall points to a broader problem with in-house prepared foods at cinema counters. When an outlet assigns its own shelf life to a cooked protein without a technical basis, there is no way for a consumer or even a floor-level staff member to know whether the product is safe to serve. FSSAI's Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations require that shelf-life claims for cooked meat products be backed by microbiological data or validated process records.

What you should do before buying food at a multiplex

Ask to see the date label on any packaged snack before purchase. At cinema counters, packaged items like chips, nachos, and sev are sometimes displayed loose or in bulk dispensers after being decanted from their original packaging, which removes the expiry date from view. If the counter staff cannot tell you the best-before date, that is a red flag.

For hot or cooked items like chicken tikka, popcorn chicken, or grilled sandwiches, ask how long the batch has been sitting. Cooked meat held at room temperature for more than two hours is outside safe holding parameters under standard food safety practice. Most multiplex counters do not display batch preparation times.

If you observe open dustbins near food preparation areas, uncovered food, or staff handling food without gloves or hair coverings, you can file a complaint directly with FSSAI through their consumer complaint portal or call the FSSAI helpline at 1800-11-2100. CMC's food safety wing also accepts complaints via the CMC official X account (@CMC_Offcl), which the CMC itself used to share inspection photographs from the June 19 drive.

The CMC has not yet published formal show-cause notices or penalty orders from this inspection round. Whether these findings result in fines, licence suspensions, or repeat inspections is not yet public.