A major food safety enforcement drive across Telangana has found serious hygiene and food-handling violations at several facilities in Telangana leading to food safety violations at 23 units receiving improvement notices following inspections across districts outside the Core Urban Region.
According to the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE), Food Safety Officers visited 46 establishments as part of a special enforcement drive on September 10. The establishments included restaurants, bakeries, dhabas, hotels, sweet shops and hostels.
The inspections highlighted a number of violations that raised food hygiene and consumer safety issues. Some officials said they saw spoiled and contaminated meat and vegetables, cockroach, housefly and rodent infestation at some facilities. Unhygienic conditions were also found; food-handling practices were poor and mandatory records were not kept up to date.
Some of the main concerns identified during inspections were the poor maintenance of refrigerators. Refrigerators were kept unclean, and vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items were not always properly segregated. Cross-contamination and food safety can be compromised by these storage practices.
Inspectors also identified expired food items and food articles that had pest infestation. Food handlers were also found to be in disarray in some establishments. Food labelling systems are also not good enough to ensure that consumers are able to know their product identity, ingredients, and shelf life.
Rodent infestation to spoiled meat: 23 units found violating norms in Telangana food safety raids
— Sudhakar Udumula (@sudhakarudumula) September 10, 2026
Spoiled and contaminated meat and vegetables, cockroach, housefly and rodent infestation, unhygienic premises and lapses in maintaining records were among the violations found… pic.twitter.com/qCEJabe8Bb
In the special drive, officials collected 22 food samples which were suspected of adulteration. These samples are expected to be further tested and taken for further action based on the results.
TG SAFE also said that spoiled, rotten, and pest-infested vegetables and other food articles were discarded at the site to prevent them from being used or served to customers.
After inspections, improvement notices will be issued to 23 establishments. The notices are designed to enable the establishments to correct the violations to meet the food safety standards. The officials will check if deficiencies have been corrected or fixed later.
But more serious action has been taken against three establishments. TG SAFE said the FSSAI licences of three units will be suspended, with directions to immediately stop business operations in the interest of public health.
The three establishments named by the authority are Mahendra Meals, Biryani and Curry Point in Ghanpur Station; Sri Balaji Magic Mithai in Baopet, Karimnagar; and Cha Cha Family Dabha on NH-65 at Tupranpet in Choutuppal, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district.
The Telangana inspections are happening amid an expanded food safety enforcement campaign across the state. TG SAFE drives have recently uncovered spoiled food, pest infestations, expired products, unsafe refrigeration and other hygiene violations, with authorities suspending licences and ordering establishments to cease operations in serious cases.
The recent action will increase the importance of clean food preparation areas, proper refrigeration, pest control, food segregation, and proper records. Poor hygiene in these areas can make a lot of businesses very hazardous to the health of their customers.
TG SAFE is expected to continue monitoring the establishments that got notices. The re-inspections and laboratory testing of the collected samples will determine whether further penalties or enforcement measures are required.
The latest crackdown sends a clear message to restaurants, hotels, bakeries, dhabas, sweet shops and hostels in Telangana that food safety standards must be followed consistently, not just during inspections.
