Hyderabad: In its first 100 days, the Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST) registered 185 cases and seized nearly 122 tonnes of adulterated food across the city, the Hyderabad city police said in a release on Saturday.Launched on March 19, the 36-member team has been conducting raids and surprise inspections along with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s (GHMC) food safety and veterinary departments. A separate 247 cases have been transferred to GHMC food safety officers (FSO) for regulatory action.Of the 185 cases, the highest number came from Rajendranagar zone with 55, followed by Golconda (44), Secunderabad (35), Charminar (21), Shamshabad (13), Jubilee Hills (12) and Khairatabad (5).The seizures covered a wide range of products. The largest by volume was over 60 tonnes of discarded chicken waste and sub-standard meat across six cases. Other seizures included 27,024.7 kg of adulterated ginger-garlic paste in 27 cases, 25,845 kg of chemically ripened fruits in 16 cases, 9,260 kg of stale or adulterated pickles in three cases, 4,030 kg of adulterated khoya in four cases, 3,897 kg of spurious tea powder in seven cases, roughly 15 tonnes of sub-standard chicken and meat across 12 cases, 3,260 kg of adulterated cream, 2,706 kg of sub-standard dry fruits and dates in two cases, 2,500 kg of adulterated curd in one case, 1,514 kg of synthetic paneer across five cases, 530 kg of adulterated ghee in a single case, and 120 kg of unhygienic fried chicken from fast-food centres in two cases. A further 34 cases were registered under other categories, including ice creams, biscuits, RO water plants and junk food.The 247 cases transferred to GHMC included 90 filed on the basis of public complaints, 70 against paneer manufacturing outlets, 11 against samosa-making centres, nine against water packaging plants, seven involving spices and masalas, six each against bakeries and fast-food centres, five involving quick delivery app Zepto, four each against hostels and meat shops, and three each targeting ice manufacturing units and seafood and chicken waste outlets.City police commissioner VC Sajjanar said the department treats food adulteration as a grave offence equivalent to attempted murder and warned that the Preventive Detention Act may be invoked against those running adulteration networks. He said the Commissioner’s office now receives an average of 15 public tip-offs daily.All food businesses have been directed to hold valid FSSAI licences, maintain hygiene standards, ensure staff wear gloves and masks, follow the First In First Out inventory method, and stop reusing cooking oil.Citizens can report suspected adulteration to Dial 100 or contact H-FAST on 8712661212 via call or WhatsApp. The police have assured that the identity of informants will be kept confidential.
