Cockroaches, rat faeces and expired food found in Monginis Cake Shop

In a major crackdown on food safety violations, a task force conducted inspections across bakeries in and around Hyderabad on January 3, 2025. The inspections revealed shocking lapses in hygiene and regulatory compliance, putting public health at significant risk.


Officials found rat faeces in the storage area of an outlet of Monginis Cake Shop in Macha Bollaram, Alwal, while infested with live cockroaches in the manufacturing unit. The moulds and other utensils for cake preparation have been labelled as "very unhygienic."


The few expired items which included some of which were two years old, comprised 5 litres of kesar syrup, 5 kgs of pineapple flavouring compounds, half a kilo of vanilla flavour, and 8 kilos of desiccated coconut powder. The storage area was also considered insufficient, with packing materials and food products kept on the ground and steps.


Structural issues such as flaking walls and ceilings, a leaking AC in the cold room, and unhygienic refrigerators added to the violations. The leaking AC posed contamination risks, while food waste inside refrigerators and the use of unhygienic plastic drums for storage further highlighted unsafe practices. The outlet also failed to display its FSSAI license prominently and lacked employee health records, FoSTaC certificates, and necessary licenses for seven chiller vehicles used for goods transportation.


In another inspection, VACS Pastries in Secunderabad was found guilty of using rum in plum cakes without excise permission or proper disclosure on product labels. The bakery's bulk cake pulp—a mix of dry fruits and jam—was stored in plastic drums without preparation or best-before dates. Food and non-food items, including chemicals, were stored together, and many food items lacked proper labels and coverings in the refrigerator. The bakery did not maintain temperature records and used equipment that was unhygienic for cake preparation.

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The officials found widespread violations of labelling in products like plum cakes, biscuits, and bread. The most important details, including the FSSAI logo, manufacturing address, ingredient list, nutritional information, and batch numbers, were missing. Moreover, no personnel were present who were trained in FoSTaC, and critical documents like water analysis reports and medical records of food handlers were missing.


These results are serious violations of food safety and call for a strong enforcement mechanism that can protect the public. This is a wake-up call by the task force for food business companies to uphold hygiene and be regulated.


(Thumb image courtesy: Canva)