Dining out: how safe is the food on your plate?

Eating out is part of a routine for many in Visakhapatnam, whether it is a quick lunch between work commitments or dinner with family and friends. When people walk into restaurants, they expect the food to be fresh, the premises to be clean, and the meals to be safe. But what ensures these conditions are met? Behind every dish served at a restaurant, there is a chain of processes involved, from sourcing ingredients to storing them in a safe environment at the right temperatures, before hygienically preparing and serving them to the diner.

Much of the concern centres on what customers or diners cannot see — the hygiene practices followed inside restaurant kitchens. Recently, an online complaint about the quality of a paneer dish served by a popular restaurant, known for its exclusive vegetarian menu along the city’s Beach Road stretch, prompted the Food Safety team of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) to conduct a surprise inspection on October 13, 2026.

At first glance, everything appeared to be in order — the staff were neatly dressed, and the kitchen looked clean. But as the officials moved into the core kitchen area and pulled open the doors of the refrigerators and deep freezers, the picture changed.

Stored inside were several containers of cooked food — vegetable biryani, dal, rice, vegetable manchurian, and a variety of vegetarian starters, including samosas — that were stored at -18°C. The management allegedly intended to reheat the food and serve it to customers later.

The concern extends beyond food storage to how long it was stored and its quality. The team reportedly found gravies and some food items prepared the day before, while most of it had reportedly been prepared two or three days earlier. Instead of disposing of the stale food, the restaurant stored it for later use. According to reports, nearly 46 kgs of stale food items were found and destroyed on the spot by the officials. A case was registered against the restaurant under applicable provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and relevant rules and regulations.

The problem is not limited to one restaurant. A visit by the team to another establishment on the same lane, which opened a few months ago and became the new hotspot, raised similar concerns about food storage practices.

According to culinary enthusiasts, there is a long wait to get a table at this popular joint to savour its biryani, which costs ₹400 per plate. Yet a recent inspection allegedly revealed that chicken from the biryani was being stored separately in the refrigerator to be reheated and served with biryani the following day. Immediately after the finding, the team slapped a ₹70,000 fine and registered a case against the management.

The concerns raise a broader question about food safety standards across the city. According to food safety officials, violations are not confined to just a handful of small eateries. Medium-sized restaurants, high-end establishments, and even star-category hotels have come under scrutiny for their food safety standards.

Health and safety standards

To ensure these establishments maintain food safety standards, Joint Collector G. Vidhyadhari and GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg have directed food safety teams to conduct surprise inspections at major hotels and restaurants across the city. In 2026 so far, cases have been booked against 128 hotels and restaurants, with fines totalling nearly ₹28 lakh imposed on the managements, according to officials.

The officials stress that stale food and poor sanitation are among the most common violations the teams come across during inspections.

GVMC Food Safety Inspector G.V. Appa Rao says that even highly rated restaurants have been found violating basic food safety practices. “The most recurring problem is the failure of restaurant management to estimate the quantity of food required for a day’s business. The tendency to cook more than demand often results in surplus food, and instead of disposing of it appropriately, some establishments store it for subsequent use,” he adds.

Drawing a comparison with household cooking, Mr. Appa Rao says families generally prepare food according to the number of people and try to finish it by the end of the day. “Restaurants, too, must estimate their requirements and ensure that surplus food is handled safely.”

“If a restaurant prepares food for 100 people but only 60 customers turn up, the remaining food should not simply be stored and served over the next few days,” he says, pointing out that the problem becomes particularly serious when the surplus consists of perishable items, especially meat.

He further points out that some establishments store cooked chicken for extended periods, until it becomes rotten. Prepared rice is stored for two to three days and subsequently used to whip up chicken, egg, and vegetable fried rice, posing a risk to consumers, he says.

“For example, in a recent raid, we found samosas stored in the refrigerator. Now, if those stale samosas are served to a child who loves them, without anyone knowing how long they were stored or how they were handled — what happens then?” he questions, underscoring the responsibility of food business operators.

Maintaining food safety requires more than proper food handling; the surrounding environment matters, too. In many inspected kitchens, officials reported numerous shortcomings in sanitation and basic infrastructure. Poorly maintained floors, damaged tiles and walls, a poor drainage system, and rusted knives and utensils in bad condition were observed. Most importantly, personal hygiene among kitchen staff is another major area where compliance has been noticed and recorded.

Water quality is another area that warrants attention. Mr. Appa Rao observes that some establishments use water supplied in cans without adequately ensuring its quality, while others depend on overhead tanks that are poorly maintained. Accumulated dirt and waste in such tanks can raise serious concerns about the suitability of the water for food preparation.

He recalls that during an inspection at a major hotel on the Beach Road, the team noticed that the kitchen was in a poor condition, particularly its drainage system. The establishment was also housing a poultry unit with around 40 to 50 hens close to the kitchen. The dust generated in the vicinity raised further concerns about the food preparation.

Another issue flagged by the officials is the use of food colours, other additives, expired products, and the repeated use of cooking oil.

Consumer grievances

Beyond inspections, complaints from consumers are another way in which food safety concerns come to light. Several complaints filed through online platforms and conventional channels bring to the fore allegations ranging from rotten chicken and improperly cooked food to the mixing of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items. Food safety teams stress that the most frequent complaints concern uncooked food, the use of spoiled chicken, and the mixing of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items at several establishments.

For Jeevana, a resident of Murali Nagar, the reality of these hidden kitchen hazards hit home through an online food order. Despite paying ₹300 for the meal, she alleged that the biryani delivered to her was stale and unfit for consumption. The incident left her dissatisfied with the quality of food for the price and raised concerns about the quality checks followed by restaurants handling online food orders. She immediately contacted the food safety authorities through the ward sachivalayam.

From roadside stalls to compact takeaway counters, biryani outlets have become a familiar sight in several parts of the city. The area around the GVMC headquarters also has several such establishments, attracting hundreds of customers on a daily basis. Their popularity reflects the growing demand for affordable, readily available meals, particularly among employees, students, and people looking for quick dining options.

However, the expansion of these businesses has raised concerns about the conditions in which food is prepared, stored, and served. Poorly maintained kitchens, inadequate personal hygiene among food handlers, and the lack of proper sanitation facilities are among the issues that require closer scrutiny.

As food businesses continue to multiply, the enforcement machinery has struggled to keep pace with the expansion. The GVMC has only three food inspectors, highlighting the need to strengthen the workforce responsible for monitoring food safety standards across the city. With a large number of establishments spread across its jurisdiction, the existing staff face considerable pressure in responding to complaints, conducting inspections, and following up on violations.

Enforcement also involves responsibilities beyond conducting raids. Officials have to issue notices, pursue cases, and attend court proceedings in connection with violations. The absence of adequate supporting personnel, including staff to assist inspectors with court-related work and the service of notices, adds to their workload and affects the time available for field inspections.

Recognising this need for a wider enforcement mechanism, the GVMC has constituted Sanitation and Health Enforcement (SHE) teams across all 10 zones. There are currently 20 teams, with two teams assigned to each zone. Each team comprises a sanitary inspector, a sanitation secretary, a woman police personnel member and other staff from the ward secretariat system.

SHE teams

The teams have been tasked with carrying out inspections of food outlets and other establishments to ensure compliance with sanitation and hygiene requirements. They are expected to inspect at least two to four establishments every day in their respective zones, enabling the civic body to extend its monitoring beyond the limited number of food inspectors.

Assistant Health Officers monitor the overall functioning of the teams. Apart from identifying violations and initiating enforcement action, the SHE teams also undertake food safety awareness activities to sensitise business operators about the importance of maintaining clean premises, proper food-handling practices, and ensuring hygienic conditions in kitchens and serving areas. The teams reportedly impose fines amounting to at least ₹80,000 to ₹1 lakh every month for sanitation-related violations.

“The initiative is intended to strengthen ground-level enforcement and improve compliance among food businesses through a combination of inspections, penalties and awareness campaigns,” says Assistant Medical Officer of Health (AMOH), Gajuwaka Zone, S. Kiran Kumar.

Ultimately, ensuring food safety requires consistent attention to kitchen infrastructure, water quality, strict sanitation, and proper food storage. While taste and presentation are what initially draw a consumer to an establishment, it is what happens behind the kitchen doors that truly matters. Adhering to food safety standards must not be confined to inspection days; it must become an everyday habit for everyone in the food industry.