Food safety crackdown in Hyderabad: 5 sweet shops shut, food items worth Rs 16.86 lakh seized

Hyderabad: Food safety officials inspected 16 sweet manufacturing and retail units across the CURE region on Wednesday and discarded 3,546.5 kg of food articles worth Rs.16.86 lakh over alleged violations of food safety norms.

Thirteen joint teams of the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE), comprising food safety officers and police personnel, conducted the inspections across the city. Twenty-two samples were collected on suspicion of adulteration, officials said.

Five establishments, including Balaji Sweets in Champapet, Mamatha Sweet House in Secunderabad, SK Foods in Kattedan, Hameedi Confectionaries at MJ Market and Annapurna Caterers at Chudi Bazaar, were closed for operating without valid FSSAI licences and under unhygienic conditions.

The inspections reportedly revealed cockroach, housefly and rodent infestation, expired and mislabelled food items, dirty kitchens, clogged drains, unclean equipment and food handlers without protective gear. Officials also found newspapers being used to cover sweets and snacks.

The FSSAI licences of five other establishments, including G Pulla Reddy Sweets at Sanathnagar and Agra Mithai Ghar at Charminar, were suspended, with instructions to stop operations immediately. Officials seized 3,133 kg of food articles worth Rs.15.03 lakh from G Pulla Reddy Sweets alone.

Show-cause notices were issued to seven establishments, while an improvement notice will be issued to Sri Shagun Mithai Vatika in Himayath Nagar.