Beware Hyderabad: Not All Mangoes Are Safe This Summer!

Hyderabad is not only the premier IT hub in South India, it is slowly emerging as the contaminated food capital of Telangana.

After seizure of thousands of kilograms of adulterated ginger-garlic paste and over 14,000 kg of rotten mutton in a raid, the authorities shifted their focus to chemical ripening of mangoes. Nearly 200 kg of chemically ripened mangoes were seized from a fruit trader, Kunal Nokatwale, a trader at Balkishan Mandir in Chudi Bazar, recently.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials found that the trader had been using Diamond Ripe-Ethylene Ripener to hasten the process of ripening. Officials seized four packets of the chemical, 25 loose sachets and 200 kg of mangoes during the raid.

Excessive use of chemical ripening agents lead to serious health risks, officials said. Consumption of artificially-ripened fruits for a long-term could lead to nervous system damage and respiratory problems, doctor said.

Recently, the H-FAST (Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team) arrested over 60 people and seized over 62 tonnes of adulterated or expired food materials. Those arrested were involved in the sale of the expired food material. The special task force was constituted to curb food adulteration.

Intensive crackdown on Hyderabad eateries revealed a major food contamination crisis with over 64 people being arrested and over 15 tonne of adulterated food seized in just one month. The authorities uncovered thousands of kilos of adulterated food products, including rotten eggs, synthetic food colours, and chemicals like sodium benzoate used in bakeries. Around 4,000 kg of fake paneer was also seized from illegal units.

The demand for “organic” food products in cities is leading to the increasing cases of food adulteration, turning into a serious menace to public health. The cosmopolitan city is experiencing a severe crisis of food adulteration and poor hygiene.

In 2023, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) ranked Hyderabad first in the country for food adulteration. In 2022, a total of 291 cases of food adulteration were reported across 19 major cities in India. Of them, 246 were reported from Hyderabad, indicating the extreme threat to food safety in the city.

Understanding the rising threat to public health, the Telangana government is planning HYDRAA-type crackdown on eateries and food joints in Hyderabad.