Hyderabad’s food safety watchdog descends on one of the city’s beloved fish fry spots — and what inspectors found inside will make you think twice before your next plate of fried fish.
It had a name that promised greatness — Famous Fish Fry. For years, the Mallepally eatery drew loyal customers with the sizzle and aroma of freshly fried fish, a staple comfort for Hyderabadis who swear by their seafood. But on Thursday, June 25, the Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team — better known as H-FAST — walked through those doors, and what they uncovered was anything but famous for the right reasons.
The establishment, it turns out, had been operating on an expired trade license. But that was just the beginning. Inspectors also discovered that artificial colours were being used in food preparation — chemicals designed to make the fish look more appealing, more vibrant, more fresh than it perhaps had any right to appear. Samples were immediately collected and sent for testing, and action has been initiated by a Food Safety Officer.
For the hundreds of customers who visited this outlet trusting the food on their plates was safe, the revelation is a gut punch — quite literally.
Not an Isolated Incident. This Is a Pattern.
What makes Thursday’s raid particularly alarming is that it isn’t a one-off crackdown. It is part of a rapid and relentless series of food safety operations that H-FAST has been conducting across Hyderabad in recent weeks — and the findings paint a deeply troubling picture of what is happening behind the kitchens of the city’s most frequented eateries.
On June 19, just six days before the Mallepally raid, H-FAST descended on Al Akbar Fast Food, a popular chicken outlet near the iconic Charminar. What inspectors found there reads like a checklist of every food safety nightmare imaginable: prohibited artificial food colours being used in cooking, stale cooking oil being reused repeatedly, no water quality certification on the premises, and a complete absence of basic hygiene and pest-control measures. The raid resulted in approximately 110 kilograms of prepared fried chicken being seized, along with six tins of loose cooking oil — each containing 15 litres — and artificial chemical food colouring agents. Two individuals were handed over to Hussaini Alam Police Station for further legal action.
And before that? On June 18, H-FAST raided a Zepto warehouse in Chandrayangutta after a customer lodged a complaint about receiving expired food products through a delivery order. Officials confirmed the complaint — expired products were found and seized from the warehouse, and a notice was issued by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
A Supermarket Was Secretly Repackaging Food
Thursday’s crackdown wasn’t limited to the fish fry alone. Simultaneously, another H-FAST team swooped into Mankahgat and raided a supermarket called Omkari Store — and what they found there adds yet another dimension to Hyderabad’s growing food safety crisis.
The store had been illegally repacking food products — taking bulk items and repackaging them without proper labels, effectively stripping consumers of any ability to know what they were buying, where it came from, or when it expired. Adding to the violations, the establishment had neither a trade license nor a labour license, and maintained zero food safety records. Action has been initiated under the Food Safety and Standards Act.
Think about that for a moment: a store where customers walked in every day, picked up packaged food, and had no way of knowing whether what they were buying had been relabeled, tampered with, or sourced from anywhere reputable.
Hyderabad’s Food Safety Reckoning Has Arrived
H-FAST’s recent operations signal something important: the city’s food safety machinery is shifting gears. Hyderabad is a metropolis that lives and breathes its food culture — from roadside biryani to neighbourhood seafood joints to convenience store snacks. That culture is precious. But it is also vulnerable to exploitation by establishments that cut corners on safety, hygiene, and legal compliance when no one is watching.
The use of artificial colours — a recurring violation in these raids — is particularly concerning. Many synthetic food dyes are linked to allergic reactions and, in higher doses, pose long-term health risks. When these are added without disclosure, without oversight, and without any regulatory accountability, ordinary consumers bear the consequence.
For now, food safety officers are testing the samples seized from Famous Fish Fry and the other raided establishments. Results will determine the next course of legal action. But one question lingers in the air, heavier than the smell of frying oil: How many other “famous” eateries across this city are hiding the same secrets?
H-FAST, it seems, is just getting started — and Hyderabad’s restaurant owners would be wise to take notice.
