Rameshwaram Cafe founders respond to raid at Hyderabad outlet: 'Law does not prohibit the use of unlabelled products'

Telangana's food safety authorities raided Hyderabad's Rameshwaram Cafe on Thursday, May 23. The Telangana Food Safety Department's officials discovered numerous infractions as the eatery was found to be using unlabeled and expired food. The food safety officers took to X to post about their findings.

Their task force team found expired 100 kg of Urad Dal worth ₹16,000, 10 kg of Nandini Curd, and eight litres of milk. They also found 300 kg of unlabeled jaggery, the Medical Fitness Certificates for Food Handlers were not available, and dustbins were not covered with proper lids. (Also Read: Bengaluru-based Rameshwaram Cafe raided in Hyderabad, expired food items found)

Amid the controversy, founder Raghavendra Rao and co-founder and managing director Divya Raghavendra Rao told HT.com, "We have taken note of the observations made by the authorities for our Hyderabad outlet. We want to assure you that we are fully committed to maintaining the highest standards of servicing and hygiene, and the safety and welfare of the consumers are our top priority. 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 to get 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 liters of milk daily, and 80 to 100 liters 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."

They further said, "The law does not prohibit the use of unlabelled products. We uphold the highest hygiene standards, and 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 standard of food and services to win the hearts and souls of our consumers and we will leave no stone unturned to make that possible," they said.