GHMC boosts food safety in Hyderabad with 6 new food testing labs
Hyderabad: Amid the reports of continuous hygiene violations at food eateries in Hyderabad, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has announced six basic food testing laboratories will be established in the core urban region.
As the food establishments cater to the gastronomical needs of the city’s urban population, the state government has decided to improve hygiene standards across eateries in the city meeting the international standards.
These mini labs are being set up with the aim of curbing food adulteration by the eateries which make up 50 per cent of Telangana’s food businesses in Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts.
Packaged foods will be tested at these labs for purity, adulteration, pathogens and microorganisms to enhance food testing across the city.
Recently, Christina Z Chongthu, Secretary, Health Medical and Family Welfare, Telangana, chaired a meeting on food safety issues, in which it was decided to set up six food testing labs in all six zones of GHMC’s core urban region to test food samples from restaurants and other eateries and also check for adulteration in dairy products.
Subsequently, the GHMC Commissioner was instructed to identify and allot six buildings to establish these labs with an estimated cost of Rs. 30 crore with a spending of Rs. 5 crore per lab.
As of now, the only Food Testing Laboratory in the state is located at Nacharam, Hyderabad. The Nacharam lab currently tests food samples from all 33 districts of Telangana. With a staff shortage, the employees are under immense pressure to process hundreds of samples on a daily basis while fulfilling the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI’s) 14-day mandate for sample analysis.
