Restaurant licenses suspended only in cases of serious risk: TG SAFE Commissioner

The suspension of restaurant operations becomes necessary only in cases of serious food safety risks, stated Avinash Mohanty, Commissioner of the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE). According to a report by The Hindu, he made this clarification while responding to questions raised regarding the decisions to suspend restaurant operations in Hyderabad.

A delegation of restaurant owners, led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, met Commissioner Mohanty on Monday, 9 November, 2026. The primary objective of the meeting was to discuss recent inspections and orders to suspend restaurant operations. The delegation demanded that establishments be given an opportunity to rectify their deficiencies before their licenses are suspended.

For the past few months, several popular restaurants in Hyderabad have come under scrutiny for failing to maintain prescribed hygiene standards and not complying with food safety requirements. During this period, the operations of some establishments have been suspended and their FSSAI licenses cancelled.

Clarifying the department's approach to restaurant inspections, Commissioner Mohanty stated that only a small fraction of the restaurants inspected by the department have had their operations suspended. Most establishments have only been issued improvement notices or show-cause notices.

He further stated that uniform guidelines have been issued for field officers. Using these guidelines, officers determine whether to issue an improvement notice, a show-cause notice, or an order to suspend operations, based on the nature and severity of the violation. The main objective of these guidelines is to ensure that all food establishments are evaluated on an equal basis and that no establishment receives any special exemption or bias.

The delegation included representatives from several well-known hotels in Hyderabad, including Hotel Nayab, Pista House, Grand Hotel, Shah Ghouse, Sohail Hotel, Hotel Shadab, Imperial, and Ruman.

MP Asaduddin Owaisi stated that restaurant owners have acknowledged that maintaining proper hygiene in food preparation areas and serving safe and healthy food to customers is essential. However, he also raised the point that before taking stringent measures such as suspending hotel licenses, owners should be given improvement notices and sufficient time to rectify their deficiencies.

Owaisi further mentioned that owners cited several instances where they felt an improvement notice would have been sufficient instead of suspending operations. The delegation requested the Commissioner that, wherever legally possible, improvement notices should be issued by identifying deficiencies instead of suspending operations, and establishments should be given adequate time to rectify them.

Commissioner Mohanty also drew attention to Schedule IV of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011, framed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. This schedule prescribes the general hygienic and sanitary practices to be followed by food business operators. He added that these requirements have been in effect since 2011 and are not new rules.