In just 100 days, Hyderabad’s food-safety squad busted 185 cases, confiscated over 121 tonnes of adulterated food, and uncovered a menu of culinary sins — from synthetic paneer to chemically ripened fruit — that might make you think twice before your next street-food run
If you’ve ever wondered what’s really going into your favourite curd, ghee, or that suspiciously perfect mango — Hyderabad just handed you a very uncomfortable answer.
In its first 100 days of operation, the city’s newly formed Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST) has registered 185 cases and seized a jaw-dropping 121.87 tonnes of adulterated and unsafe food products — enough to make even the most carefree foodie start reading labels a little more carefully.
The Squad Cracking Down on Fake Food
Launched roughly three months ago under the Hyderabad City Police, H-FAST works hand-in-hand with the GHMC, Food Safety, and Veterinary departments, running surprise raids and inspections across the city to sniff out — quite literally — networks manufacturing and selling adulterated food.
And business, unfortunately, has been brisk. Rajendranagar zone topped the charts with the highest number of cases at 55, followed by Golconda (44), Secunderabad (35), Charminar (21), Shamshabad (13), Jubilee Hills (12), and Khairatabad (5).
The Seizure List Reads Like a Foodie’s Worst Nightmare
Brace yourself, because the sheer scale — and variety — of what’s been confiscated is genuinely eye-opening:
- 27,024.7 kg of adulterated ginger-garlic paste
- 25,845 kg of chemically ripened fruits
- 60 tonnes of discarded chicken waste
- 15 tonnes of poor-quality meat
- 9,260 kg of stale pickles
- 4,030 kg of adulterated khoya
- 3,897 kg of spurious tea powder
- 3,260 kg of chemical cream
- 2,706 kg of substandard dry fruits
- 2,500 kg of adulterated curd
- 1,514 kg of synthetic paneer
- 530 kg of fake ghee
- 120 kg of unhygienic fried chicken
Read that list again slowly. Ginger-garlic paste, curd, paneer, ghee, tea — these aren’t obscure ingredients; they’re staples that show up in nearly every Hyderabadi kitchen and restaurant menu, from the neighbourhood tiffin center to your favourite biryani joint.
It’s Not Just Raids — Citizens Are Calling It In
What’s particularly striking is how much of this crackdown is being driven by the public itself. Of the total cases, 247 were referred to GHMC Food Safety Officers for regulatory action, including 90 complaints filed directly by citizens, alongside violations uncovered at paneer units, bakeries, fast-food outlets, spice manufacturers, water packaging plants, hostels, and meat shops.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar revealed that H-FAST now receives around 15 tip-offs a day from residents — a sign that the city’s food-safety anxieties are real, and people are increasingly willing to report what they suspect isn’t right on their plate.
Beyond Raids: A Push for Cleaner Kitchens
H-FAST isn’t just about seizures and shutdowns — the team has also been running awareness sessions with food business operators, pushing them to secure valid FSSAI licences, follow proper hygiene protocols, adopt the First In, First Out (FIFO) inventory method, and — perhaps most importantly for anyone who’s ever had a stomach ache after fried food — stop reusing cooking oil repeatedly.
A Warning for Repeat Offenders
Commissioner Sajjanar didn’t mince words, calling food adulteration a serious threat to public health and warning that habitual offenders could face detention under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act — a considerably tougher consequence than a routine fine.
He also urged citizens to keep the tip-offs coming, either by dialling 100 or reaching out via the H-FAST WhatsApp helpline, with a promise of full confidentiality for anyone who reports suspicious food practices.
The Takeaway for Hyderabad’s Foodies
For a city as fiercely proud of its culinary identity as Hyderabad — where biryani debates get personal and a good cup of chai is practically a birthright — this crackdown lands as both a wake-up call and a reassurance. A wake-up call, because 121 tonnes of adulterated food didn’t appear overnight. And a reassurance, because someone is finally out there checking what’s actually on your plate.
So the next time you order that extra creamy paneer curry or that impossibly ripe mango, it might be worth asking: has this kitchen had a visit from H-FAST yet?
