Fungal Infestation, No Licence to Manufacture Buttermilk: Food Safety Raids in Hanamkonda and Rangareddy

 Hyderabad: Inspection teams from the food safety department have extended their raids to dairy units in Rangareddy. On Thursday, food safety commissioner R.V. Karnan's teams inspected All Rich Dairy Private Limited in Pasumamula village. Besides water stagnation and a bad smell in the manufacturing area, the teams found rust on the transportation trolleys. The inspectors seized 263 kg of unlabelled ghee from the unit.

There were no insect-proof screens in the unit. Food handlers were found without wearing gloves, headgear, and aprons. The inspectors also pointed out the lack of the FSSAI license on the premises, which was also found to be not as per the FSSAI guidelines. It should mention the name of the manufacturer and the marketer's address. The medical fitness certificates of food handlers were also not available, and no FOSTAC trainee was available at the factory. A transport license was not available for the vehicles.

Similar violations were found at Anitha Dairy Products in the same village. No FSSAI license was displayed at the factory, and there was water stagnation and a bad smell. Food handlers were found without gloves and headgear, and the transportation license was missing. The unit also had major violations such as masala buttermilk packets being manufactured at the plant without having a license for the said food category.

The inspectors seized the raw material — about 12 cartons of 'Tadka paste 09122-01'.

The inspectors also found labelling defects — manufacturer address details were not mentioned on the pack. Instead, a QR code was printed on the packets. Inspectors also discarded expired reagents and chemicals being used in the laboratory. The microbiologist working in the lab was found to be not qualified.

In Hanamkonda, three food outlets were inspected. At Sri Amogham Foods, Nakkalgutta, and Hotel Ashoka, the FSSAI License copy was not displayed at a prominent location. Food handlers were without proper hairnets, aprons, and gloves. Other violations by the former included the usage of synthetic food colours and semi-prepared and raw food articles stored without proper labelling, covering, and temperature.

Inspectors discarded 25 kg raw meat (chicken) and 4 kg cauliflower at Sri Amogham Foods. The kitchen was without proper mesh to avoid the entry of pests or flies, and dustbins were open without lids. Medical fitness certificates for food handlers and pest control records were not found with the FBO. Also, the water analysis report was not available.

At Hotel Ashoka, the inspectors discarded five litres of boiled milk which had houseflies floating in it. Eight kg of idli batter, 11 packets of chicken masala and three bottles of expired sauce were discarded. The prepared food was kept under the roof with spider webs. Oil deposition on the roof which was also leaking.

Inspectors found reused cooking oil. Seventeen packets of Indian noodles and 28 packets of saunf were seized, and samples were collected for lab analysis. At Hotel Shreya, besides similar violations, house flies were found in prepared food and fungal infestation (molds) on cooked chicken stored in the refrigerator.