Key Update

The Telangana Food Safety team recently uncovered serious violations at multiple spice manufacturing and repacking units during its ongoing ‘Spices Drive’, which covered all 33 districts and over 30 establishments across the state. Officials shared their findings on the department’s official X account to raise public awareness about hygiene lapses and regulatory violations.

Major Offenders and Issues

Inspectors detected significant violations at two facilities: M/s Srivari Spices & Foods Ltd, Jalpally (Rangareddy District), and M/s Divine Spices, Kapila Nagar Colony, Bandlaguda Jagir, Hyderabad. Key issues included:

• Poor hygiene and sanitation

• Pest and rodent infestations

• Contamination of 15 kg of black pepper and 18 kg of bay leaves with rat faeces

• Unlabelled or expired products

• Missing medical fitness records for workers

• Absence of a FoSTaC-trained supervisor

Additionally, curry leaf powder without proper labelling was seized for violating the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.

Samples Collected for Monitoring and Enforcement

During the inspections, authorities collected over 40 enforcement and surveillance samples of common Indian spices, including chilli, turmeric, black pepper, coriander, curry leaf powder, and bay leaves. Surveillance samples help monitor quality through random checks, while enforcement samples target suspected violations and can lead to penalties or prosecution.

Action Taken

The food safety department issued multiple improvement notices, seized contaminated stocks, and initiated enforcement actions to ensure safe and hygienic spice production and distribution across Telangana, according to the Commissioner of Food Safety.

Source: NDTV

The Hindu