Hyderabad Food Safety Sweep Targets Six Outlets

The Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team, popularly known as H‑FAST, teamed up with GHMC food‑safety officers on Friday for a surprise drive. Their mission? To sniff out any food‑safety violations that might be lurking in the city’s bustling eateries.

Six spots fell under the searchlight – a repacking unit called KOP Apro Tech Ltd. in Bahadurpura, the ice‑cream shop Snazzy Ice Cream at Kishan Bagh, two murukulu (rice‑flour snack) manufacturers – Veerabhadra Enterprises and Twin Cities Enterprises in Mylargadda, SS Bakery in Malkajguda, and a retail outlet, M.M. Kirana & Dry Fruits Store, in Begum Bazar.

The investigators uncovered a laundry list of problems. Food was being stored in damp, dirty corners; reused cooking oil was being reheated and poured back into fryers; artificial colourings were sprinkled into products without any labelling. Even worse, several items were past their expiry dates or were mis‑branded. The places were crawling with pests – cockroaches, pigeons and other critters – and many workers weren’t wearing basic protective gear like hairnets or gloves. To top it all off, several establishments didn’t display a valid FSSAI licence.

What happened next? The team seized the suspect oil, the artificially coloured foods and a handful of other questionable articles. Samples were collected for lab testing, and six individuals were taken into custody and handed over to food‑safety officials for action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Officials urge the public to be vigilant: buy only from licensed, clean premises, double‑check the FSSAI logo, scan manufacturing and expiry dates, and read labels carefully. If you spot anything suspicious, you can report it to H‑FAST at 8712661212.