Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Wednesday initiated measures to strengthen food safety by integrating the Food Safety and Drug Control Administration (DCA) departments to improve public health enforcement.
Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha reviewed the proposal with senior officials at the Secretariat. He directed Health Principal Secretary Christina Z. Chongthu to prepare a comprehensive action plan suited to Telangana.
The Minister said the government was committed to ensuring safe food and quality medicines for the public. He added that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had accorded top priority to food safety and public health.
Officials informed the Minister that both departments shared similar objectives. However, they said separate functioning had affected coordination and enforcement.
Food safety integration to strengthen enforcement
During the review, officials highlighted challenges such as staff shortages, inspection delays, limited laboratory capacity and prolonged legal proceedings. They said integrating the two departments would improve inspections, sample collection, laboratory testing, intelligence gathering and enforcement.
Further, Rajanarasimha directed officials to prepare detailed proposals covering administrative, legal and technical aspects of the integration. He also asked them to submit plans for recruiting additional personnel and specialists.
The Minister instructed officials to modernise food testing laboratories across the State. He also asked them to examine the need for regional laboratories and introduce advanced testing equipment to enhance capacity.
Meanwhile, Rajanarasimha directed officials to strengthen enforcement against adulterated food, substandard medicines and counterfeit drugs. He said the department should pursue strict legal action until offenders receive appropriate punishment. He also called for a stronger legal team to support enforcement.
At the same time, the Minister said the government should not inconvenience genuine food businesses. He directed officials to ensure that hotels and restaurants providing quality food were not subjected to unnecessary hardship.
Further, Rajanarasimha said Hyderabad had earned global recognition for its pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing industry. He asked DCA Director General Avinash Mohanty to promote Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to further strengthen the sector’s reputation.
Food Safety Commissioner Sangeetha Satyanarayana, DCA Director General Avinash Mohanty, Aarogyasri CEO Hanumanthu and other senior officials attended the meeting.