A food safety inspection at the Tamil Nadu MLA hostel restaurant in Chennai has resulted in a notice directing the establishment not to operate until reported deficiencies are rectified, after officials found food items without expiry dates and unhygienic conditions, according to Dinamalar.
The inspection was conducted on September 20 at the Nachiappa restaurant operating inside the MLA hostel. The action followed an earlier inspection by Thousand Lights MLA and Assembly Speaker M. Appavu, who reportedly visited the restaurant at the hostel in Triplicane two days earlier.
During that visit, the restaurant was found to be inadequately maintained on hygiene standards, following which the MLA directed the management to address the shortcomings, the report said.
Food safety officials subsequently inspected the restaurant under the leadership of Thamizselvan, Chennai district designated officer of the Food Safety Department. During the inspection, officials found that some food products being used at the restaurant did not carry expiry dates. The restaurant was also found to be unhygienic across its premises, according to the report.
Officials collected samples of paneer, tea powder and other food items for laboratory examination. The samples have been sent for testing, although the report does not specify when the results will be released or what further action could follow from the laboratory findings.
The notice issued to the restaurant owner stated that the establishment should not be operated until the identified deficiencies are resolved. The report does not state whether the restaurant had resumed service after the inspection or whether any penalties, beyond the notice, had been imposed.
The episode places food safety oversight inside a public institutional facility under scrutiny. The MLA hostel serves legislators and is located in a central Chennai neighbourhood, making the condition of its food outlet a matter of operational compliance as well as consumer safety. The available report, however, does not provide details of the restaurant’s licence status, the specific hygiene violations recorded by officials or the test results of the collected samples.
The immediate next steps are the laboratory examination of the food samples and rectification of the deficiencies identified during the inspection. The restaurant’s operations will remain restricted under the notice until those shortcomings are addressed, the report said.
