Vijayawada's Minerva Coffee Shop on MG Road was shut down on Tuesday, after Udayagiri MLA Bollineni Venkata Ramarao found a worm in his breakfast. 

According to reports, the TDP MLA ordered a poori at the hotel on Tuesday morning, only to find a worm on his plate, to his shock. 

He immediately lodged a complaint with the food safety officials, following which Assistant Controller of Food Safety, N Poorna Chandar Rao, conducted raids at the hotel, and found stale food stored in the refrigerator.

Speaking to the local media, Rao said, “In the kitchen, we found cooked food and sweets preserved in the refrigerator. There was also a lack of hygiene among the hotel staff. They did not wear any gloves, aprons or caps. Samples of the poori, curry, wheat flour and others were collected and sent for testing. We have served an improvement notice and will proceed with criminal action according to FSS Act."

The official also said that a review of the restaurant would be held in a few days, after which further orders would be passed, and the licence of the outlet could also be cancelled.

One of the legislator’s aides told local media, “The management was callous in its approach. They didn’t even care. They made us wait for half an hour. If that’s how they treat an MLA, how will they treat a common man? They must be punished for this.”

However, the legislator left the spot soon after he raised a complaint, claiming that he had a flight to catch.

The outlet said it had taken note of the incident.

“I was informed about the issue when it was taken to the notice of the government officials. The MLA has directly reported the finding to officials. The worm was out of the banana leaf placed in the plate. We use banana leaves instead of plates,” the outlet’s Manager, Srinivas, told The Hindu.