Expired Items, Multiple Food Safety Violations Found At The Rameshwaram Cafe In Hyderabad: Raid Uncovers

The Food Safety Department of Telangana has been conducting inspections of many restaurants in various parts of Hyderabad in the past few days. On May 23, 2024, the officials visited the Madhapur area of the city. One of the places they raided was an outlet of the popular Bengaluru-based brand, The Rameshwaram Cafe. They found several expired and mislabelled food items at the establishment. These included 100 kilos of urad dal which had reportedly expired in March 2024, as well as 10 kilos of expired curds and 8 litres of expired milk.

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These were not the only violations that were found on the premises of The Rameshwaram Cafe in Madhapur. The food safety department team also seized 450 kilos of raw rice and 20 kilos of white lobia, as they were improperly labelled. The total worth of these items was Rs. 26000, as per the department. 300 kilos of jaggery worth Rs. 30000 was also seized, as it was unlabelled. Moreover, the food handlers were unable to present their Medical Fitness Certificates. The officials also discovered that the restaurant's dustbins were not covered properly with lids.

* Improperly labelled Raw Rice(450Kg), White Lobia (20kg) worth Rs. 26K seized

* Unlabelled Jaggery (300kg) worth Rs. 30k was seized

* Medical Fitness Certificates for Food Handlers not available.

* Dustbins not covered properly with lids.

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— Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana (@cfs_telangana) May 23, 2024

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The Rameshwaram Cafe is a famous chain of South Indian restaurants from Bengaluru, where it has multiple outlets. It is said to be popular among locals and tourists alike. In the past, several celebrities have been spotted at one of the Bengaluru locations, including Kartik Aaryan, Navya Naveli Nanda and Chef Gary Mehigan. 

The inspection team from the food safety department also went to Baahubali Kitchen in the Madhapur neighbourhood on the same day. The raid at this eating joint again brought to light multiple violations, including the use of synthetic food colours, heavy cockroach infestation, lack of Pest Control Records, unhygienic kitchen premises, improper storage of food in the refrigerator, and other issues. The officials did not find the Medical Fitness Certificate for food handlers at the restaurant. Additionally, the true copy of the establishment's FSSAI License was not displayed.

Baahubali Kitchen

* Synthetic Food Colours found in kitchen were discarded on the spot

* Heavy cockroach infestation observed in kitchen and cockroaches found on food articles inside store room. Pest Control Records not found.

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— Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana (@cfs_telangana) May 23, 2024

* Kitchen premises found very unhygienic and water stagnation observed in cleaning area

* Semi-prepared and raw food were improperly stored inside refrigerator

* Medical Fitness Certificate for food handlers not found

* FSSAI License True Copy was not displayed at the Premises

— Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana (@cfs_telangana) May 23, 2024

The founders of The Rameshwaram Cafe, Divya Raghavendra Rao and Raghavendra Rao, have taken note of the actions of the food safety department at the Hyderabad outlet. In a statement, they said, "We are already looking into the matter and have ordered an internal inquiry to verify the facts and take stock of each outlet. We continue to extend all cooperation to the authorities in getting to the bottom of the matter. From the consumption perspective at our Hyderabad outlet alone, we require over 500 kgs of urad dal weekly, 300 litres of milk daily, and 80 to 100 litres of curd daily. The stocks found were sealed and unattended, intended for dispatch and not for consumption. We comply with all laws governing material procurement, sourcing the highest quality products from the best vendors. The law does not prohibit the use of unlabelled products." The founders have pointed out that "some reports have falsely claimed that cockroaches were found in our kitchen. The official report does not mention this; in fact, the cockroaches were found at a different restaurant, not at Rameshwaram Cafe. At our cafe, we conduct deep cleaning daily and pest control every month to maintain our standards. Additionally, we would like to clarify that we have not received any show-cause notice from the authorities and will continue to cooperate fully with them. We have also ordered hygiene and standard checks for all our outlets across the states and want to convey our strong commitment towards providing consumers with the best in the category. We have always believed that it is important to maintain certain standards of food and services to win the hearts and souls of our consumers and we will leave no stone unturned to make that possible."

Before this, Telangana's food safety department conducted raids on food joints in the Banjara Hills and Somajiguda areas of Hyderabad. Again, they unearthed multiple violations at Labonel Fine Baking, Baskin Robbins, Kritunga - The Palegar's Cuisine and other restaurants. Click here to learn what they found.

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