TG SAFE Shuts 5 Sweet Units, Suspends 5 Licences

The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) closed five sweet manufacturing and retail units for operating without valid Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licences and suspended the licences of five others following inspections that revealed unhygienic conditions, pest infestation and expired and mislabelled food products.

Thirteen enforcement teams comprising food safety officers and Hyderabad city police personnel inspected 16 sweet manufacturing and retail units in the CURE region. Officials collected 22 samples on suspicion of adulteration and seized or discarded 3,546.5 kg of food articles worth `16.86 lakh, according to TG SAFE.

The violations included cockroach, housefly and rodent infestation, clogged drains, dirty floors and walls, greasy kitchen equipment, improper storage and the use of newspapers to wrap sweets. Officials also found expired food articles, missing pest-control and food-handler health records, and workers not wearing hairnets or gloves.

The five establishments closed were Balaji Sweets in Champapet, Mamatha Sweet House in Secunderabad, SK Foods in Kattedan, Hameedi Confectionaries at MJ Market and Annapurna Caterers in Chudi Bazaar. Officials cited unlicensed operations and unhygienic conditions, along with specific violations at each unit.

At Mamatha Sweet House, the licence had expired, while officials found housefly infestation, dirty equipment, expired food and a lack of pest-control records. SK Foods was operating without a licence, and officials found rusty and greasy equipment and sweets bearing a future manufacturing date of October 31, 2026. At Hameedi Confectionaries, officials reported pest infestation in almonds, cockroaches and expired food articles. Annapurna Caterers was found to have pest infestation in food ingredients, rotten tomatoes and rat droppings.

The five units, whose FSSAI license were suspended, with instructions to stop operations immediately in the interest of public health, were Agra Mithai Ghar Restaurant at Charminar, G. Pulla Reddy Sweets at Sanathnagar, Sweetone Ruchulu India Pvt. Ltd. at Vanasthalipuram, Balaji Sri Kishan Mithai Bhandar at Falaknuma and Hirani Foods Pvt. Ltd. (Minerva Sweets) at Kattedan.

At G. Pulla Reddy Sweets, officials seized 3,133 kg of food articles worth `15.03 lakh. The inspection also found improper storage, expired and mislabelled food products, rotten vegetables and rat droppings.

Show-cause notices were issued to seven establishments, including Bharat Baklava at Sanathnagar and Karachi Bakery International Pvt. Ltd. at Timmapur, as well as the five closed units. Further action, including penalties, will follow.

An improvement notice will be issued to Sri Shagun Mithai Vatika in Himayatnagar, where officials identified lapses requiring rectification. TG SAFE said the establishments would be reinspected to verify compliance with food safety norms.

CLOSED

Balaji Sweets, Champapet

Mamatha Sweet House, Secunderabad

SK Foods, Kattedan

Hameedi Confectionaries, Moazzamjahi Market

Annapurna Caterers, Chudi Bazaar

Licences suspended

Agra Mithai Ghar Restaurant, Charminar

G. Pulla Reddy Sweets, Sanathnagar

Sweetone Ruchulu India Pvt. Ltd, Vanasthalipuram,

Balaji Sri Kishan Mithai Bhandar, Falaknuma

Hirani Foods Pvt. Ltd. (Minerva Sweets), Kattedan