Hyderabad food safety officials seized 1,950 kg of pheni valued at ₹2.30 lakh during a festive-season enforcement drive that found suspected quality issues, licensing violations and poor hygiene at units manufacturing and selling pheni, khara and other food products. Twelve samples were lifted for laboratory testing.
The inspections were conducted by the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE), whose teams included Food Safety Officers and police personnel. Twelve teams inspected 12 manufacturing and retail establishments in Attapur, Jiyaguda, Charminar, Begum Bazar, Moosarambagh and Badangpet.
According to the enforcement findings reported by The Hindu, several establishments were operating with retail-category licences instead of manufacturing licences. Officials also reported unhygienic premises, improper storage of food articles and inadequate personal hygiene among food handlers. Some workers were found wearing half-sleeved clothing and not using hairnets.
The inspections also recorded spitting stains linked to gutka and pan masala, food articles stored directly on floors without proper covering, housefly infestation and failures to maintain pest-control and food-handler health records. Food articles contaminated with extraneous matter, including gutka and pan masala packets, were discarded at the premises.
Anjani Foods and Peni Works at Bharath Nagar in Jiyaguda was ordered to stop business operations after officials found that it was operating without an FSSAI licence and under unhygienic conditions. TG SAFE also suspended the FSSAI licences of five establishments and directed them to stop operations immediately in the interest of public health.
Show-cause notices are to be issued to six establishments, with further action proposed for imposing penalties. The 12 samples collected during the inspections will be tested to establish whether the products contained adulterants or other quality violations. Until those results are available, the seizure and enforcement action establish regulatory concerns but do not by themselves determine the final laboratory outcome.
The drive was conducted ahead of Dasara and Diwali, when demand for festive food products rises across the city. Its findings place licensing, storage, sanitation and worker-hygiene compliance at the centre of enforcement action against small food manufacturing and retail units. TG SAFE’s next steps include laboratory testing, action on the show-cause notices and further proceedings against establishments whose violations are confirmed.
