Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Police have registered 61 cases, arrested 64 people and seized 15 tonne of adulterated food products in the past one month as part of a dedicated crackdown on food adulteration in the city, Commissioner of Police VC Sajjanar said on Monday, March 30.
Sajjanar said the Hyderabad Commissionerate had set up a specialised team called H-FAST – Hyderabad Food Safety and Action Team – to investigate and dismantle adulteration networks operating in the city.
The seized products included commonly consumed items such as biscuits, ice cream, ginger-garlic paste, tea powder, milk and curd, the Commissioner said.
“Food adulteration is not just a crime. It is a silent, deadly attack on every household,” Sajjanar said in a statement, adding that the “scale and brazenness” of such acts were deeply alarming.
He said the crackdown was in line with a directive from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to establish a dedicated food safety system in the state, describing the decision as “truly commendable.”
Sajjanar warned that there would be “zero tolerance” for those who endangered public health for profit and said enforcement would only be stepped up in the weeks ahead.Food adulteration is an offence under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and carries penalties including imprisonment of up to life in cases where adulterated food causes death.