In a shocking incident, a customer eating at a food outlet in Vijayawada found a dead lizard in his chicken biriyani on Friday.
The incident took place at the city's Teacher Colony at the Silver Spoon multi-cuisine restaurant, when the customer, identified as Vijay, went there for a meal with another person.
Photographs of the plate show the black lizard, which Vijay found in his plate after they had already eaten a portion of the meal. The customers were sharing the meal.
It is learnt that they visited a local hospital for check-up and are said to be out of danger.
Officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have served a notice to the outlet.
"The victims haven't given a formal complaint but we have taken suo moto action and raided the hotel, before serving them with a notice," Assistant Food Controller N Purnachandra Rao told TNM.
"Food samples were collected from the hotel and we have sent them to the lab for examination. Once we get the report, we will take all the required actions from filing cases to suspension of licenses," he added.
The official also said that all outlets and hotels must take measures to ensure that they serve hygienic food in the interest of public safety, adding that they would book criminal cases if there was a lapse in the maintenance.
He has also appealed to customers and the public to inform officials immediately, if they find any such issues.
Last month, in a move to control food adulteration and malpractices in ice cream manufacturing units across Vijayawada and Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh, Food Safety and Vigilance officials carried out coordinated raids in as many as eight units.
The raids, which were carried out simultaneously by four teams, brought to light several issues such as lack of cleanliness and excessive usage of several chemicals.
According to officials, traders are also operating the units without obtaining necessary permissions and manufacturing the ice cream in unhygienic conditions with least regard for public health.