A snack manufacturer was found to be violating food safety regulations (Photo: X/ cfs_telangana)
On December 14, 2024, a state-level food safety task force undertook inspections in Telangana's Mahabubnagar district. The officials have shared the findings of one of them, which was conducted at Sri Santosh Foods, a food store/manufacturing unit in Yenugonda. The team has listed several problems that were uncovered at the establishment and revealed that its license has been suspended as per the provisions of the FSS Act, 2006. The officials discovered that "Food products were being packed with labels mentioning incorrect and inactive food licenses." The labels also did not have mandatory details such as manufacturing and expiry dates.
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The task force seized food items worth Rs 65,000 because of violations related to hygiene and labelling. These articles included chips, roasted groundnuts, fried moong dal, kara mixture, etc. Other grave concerns were highlighted by the team. They found that ingredients like groundnuts were stored in urea bags, noting that this is a hazardous practice. The officials also clarified that doing so is prohibited, as it poses a "significant risk of contamination and food poisoning." Additionally, the officials found pest-infested flour and fungal-infected potatoes worth Rs. 26,000, which were then discarded on the spot. That's not all. The task force stated that reused oil and synthetic food colours (which are not allowed as per food safety regulations) were being used while making the food products.
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This is not the first time the Food Safety Task Force has suspended licenses of food manufacturing units in Telangana. Just a few weeks ago, the officials inspected two ginger garlic paste manufacturing units in Hyderabad's Katedan area. After noting multiple violations at both establishments, they revealed that they have accordingly suspended their licenses. At one unit, the team seized 1000 kilos of ginger-garlic paste "on suspicion of adulteration and substandard quality." At the other location, they seized 400 kilos of packed paste, among other items. Click here to read more.