Hyderabad: Shaken by a rash of disturbing findings during surprise raids on restaurant kitchens, Telangana’s Health Department is rolling out a major upgrade in food safety infrastructure greenlighting six new food testing labs across Hyderabad.
The decision follows a series of crackdowns by the Commissioner of Food Safety’s task force, which uncovered a troubling pattern: expired ingredients, banned food colours, and long-frozen meats lurking in the backrooms of city eateries.
The upcoming labs will be set up in LB Nagar, Charminar, Khairtabad, Secunderabad, Serilingampally, and Kukatpally zones chosen for their density of restaurants and spillover into suburban areas. Each facility, pegged at ₹15 crore, will be equipped to rapidly test food samples for contamination, adulteration, and hygiene breaches.
“We’ve found places storing meat for over a month after packaging. Some use banned additives or expired spices. Even leafy vegetables are being unnaturally preserved. We discard such items on the spot,” a senior department official said.
With just one government-run lab in Nacharam currently handling up to 1,500 samples a month, the need for expansion has been urgent. Once the six new labs are in place, the Nacharam unit will be repurposed as a State referral lab.
Hyderabad’s food sector is no small player. According to the India Food Services Report 2024 by the National Restaurant Association of India, the city boasts nearly 75,000 food outlets both formal and informal contributing to an industry worth over ₹10,000 crore, the sixth-largest among Indian metros.
“The volume we’re dealing with is massive. One lab was never going to be enough. These new facilities will finally give us the bandwidth to respond quickly and act effectively,” the official added.