Hyderabad food safety authorities have suspended the FSSAI licences of nine KFC and Domino’s Pizza outlets and ordered them to stop operations after inspections found cockroach infestation, rat droppings, expired food and other alleged violations at several locations across the city.
The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) conducted the enforcement drive on November 12 across the CURE region. Thirteen teams comprising food safety officers and police personnel inspected 26 KFC and Domino’s outlets.
Officials reported finding cockroaches and houseflies, fungal growth on walls, greasy utensils, unclean food-preparation equipment, rat droppings and unhygienic storage conditions during the inspections. The department also alleged that some outlets were using magnesium silicate without authorisation to filter used cooking oil for reuse.
The suspended establishments include seven KFC outlets at Madinaguda-Miyapur, Sindhi Colony in Secunderabad, Punch Mohalla in Charminar, Moosarambagh, Banjara Hills, Shilpa Kala Vedika in Hitec City and Inorbit Mall in Madhapur. The two Domino’s outlets are located at Sarath City Mall in Kondapur and Inorbit Mall in Madhapur.
TG SAFE will share details of the nine outlets with online food-delivery platforms, including Swiggy and Zomato, so they can be delisted until their FSSAI licences are restored. The action places responsibility not only on the outlets but also on the digital ordering systems through which customers access prepared food across the city.
The department will issue improvement notices to eight other outlets: four Domino’s branches at Nizampet, Miyapur, Himayatnagar and Malakpet, and four KFC outlets at Sarath City Mall in Kondapur, Karkhana, Himayatnagar and Shaikpet. These outlets will be reinspected to determine whether the reported violations have been addressed.
Five additional show-cause notices will be issued to three Domino’s outlets at Karkhana, Gachibowli and Hitec City, and two KFC outlets at Nizampet and Gachibowli. Further action, including penalties, will depend on the responses submitted by the establishments.
During the enforcement drive, officials collected 20 food samples on suspicion of adulteration and seized approximately 52 kg of synthetic magnesium silicate allegedly used to filter cooking oil. The suspended outlets can resume operations only after the regulatory process results in restoration of their FSSAI licences.
