Food safety officials in the Hyderabad IT corridor have intensified their inspections. As part of this crackdown, Cyberabad Food Safety teams conducted a surprise raid on Thursday (June 25) at the Hyderabad warehouse of 'Hyperpure' (Zomato Hyperpure), owned by the prominent food delivery app Zomato. Officials discovered massive quantities of expired food items stored at the IDA Kukatpally warehouse, which supplies raw materials to various hotels and restaurants.
Serious violations were caught at the scene, including houseflies swarming the premises, unhygienic conditions, and the negligent storage of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items together.
Major Violations and Findings
Seized & Destroyed Goods: Officials immediately discarded 78 packets of 'Kitchen King' masala and expired pizza sauce found during the inspection.
Storage Negligence: Contrary to regulations, vegetarian and meat products were found mixed together in the same freezer.
Lack of Sanitation: Kitchen trays were heavily layered with grease, the poultry chiller was unhygienic, and flies were found hovering around the vegetable sorting area.
Samples of peanuts, pulses, cumin, and ghee were collected by the officials and sent to the laboratory for formal testing. However, because the staff members were wearing hairnets and the warehouse maintained proper pest control records, it received a score of 124 out of 198 (63%) in the hygiene assessment. An improvement notice was issued to the company to rectify its shortcomings.
Raid at 'The Food Planet' Restaurant in Chandanagar
On the preceding day (June 24), the food safety team also inspected 'The Food Planet' restaurant located on the Old Mumbai National Highway in Chandanagar.
Expired Meat: Officials discovered expired raw goat meat (mutton) and unlabelled curd, both of which were destroyed immediately.
Kitchen Conditions: The kitchen's exhaust systems and pipelines were clogged with grease, and the maintenance of the refrigerators was found to be in poor condition.
Staff Violations: Waste had accumulated in the kitchen drains. Furthermore, the staff lacked medical fitness certificates and water quality testing records. Many workers were found cooking without trimmed nails and without wearing aprons.
Consequently, this restaurant was given a low score of just 51 out of 100 and was served an improvement notice to fix the violations. Cyberabad authorities have made it clear that these inspections will continue regularly to safeguard public health.