Hyderabad: As food hygiene remains a growing concern, the Telangana food safety team conducted a raid on an eatery in Medak and discovered multiple violations.
The raid was conducted on December 3 at Sunny Foods in Kallakal, Manoharabad.
The establishment was found to be operating without a valid FSSAI license. Additionally, the company was manipulating product names using attractive, irrelevant pictorials and names which violates FSSAI labelling guidelines.
During the raid, the Telangana food safety team also discovered the use of expired food additives including tomato masala and maggie masala for the preparation of ready-to-eat savouries.
As a result, Rs 2.13 lakh worth of snacks like Namkeen, Chips, and Colored Saunf were seized and discarded to ensure public safety.
FSSAI issues advisory to e-commerce food operators
Despite continuous raids, violations continue to surface across Telangana every time the team conducts checks. In response, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an advisory to eCommerce food business operators (FBOs) to ensure better food safety practices.
The advisory includes several key guidelines including that the last-mile delivery personnel must be trained in food safety and hygiene practices, focusing on the safe handling and transportation of food items.
The notice also mentions the importance of separating food and non-food items during delivery to prevent cross-contamination. FSSAI also mandated that product claims on eCommerce platforms must align with the physical labels which should be under the FSSAI Labeling and Display Regulations 2020.
Following raids at restaurants, bakeries, and sweet shops across Telangana, expired products were commonly found as a food safety violation. To address this issue, the notice clarifies that the shelf life of food products at the time of delivery should be at least 30 percent or 45 days of their total shelf life.
Lastly, no eCommerce FBO is allowed to list any food business operator on its platform without displaying their valid FSSAI license or registration.
Food safety raids across Telangana continue
The scrutiny of restaurants in Hyderabad continues as the Telangana food safety department’s task force conducted raids on November 11 at several establishments, including Dolphin Bakery, LS Bakers, Tanuja Logii, and Kaveri Family Restaurant in Suryapet.
On November 20, a task force of the Telangana food safety officials conducted food raids at nutraceutical manufacturing units in IDA Mallapur revealing alarming safety violations and regulatory non-compliance. The inspections focused on two facilities, Vin Biomed and Nuvista Pharmaceutical Pvt Ltd. Both were found to have numerous issues that jeopardized consumer safety.
The task force seized six kg of co-Enzyme Q10 (Nutra) Powder worth Rs 50,000 due to an invalid FSSAI license and 17 kg of MK Cocoa Powder valued at Rs 6,800 for lacking an FSSAI license and batch number.
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