Food safety drive on sweet shops ahead of Deepavali

Food safety officials have found pests and flies to be common problems in many sweet shops across the city during their ongoing inspections ahead of Deepavali festival.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has launched a special drive to check sweet shops for quality and compliance with sanitation standards in the preparation of sweets.

Inspections are being carried out circle-wise, and 27 outlets have been checked so far. The drive will continue, GHMC officials said. Notices are being issued for violations, and in cases of serious non-compliance, adjudication proceedings will be initiated.

Absence of pest control operations, use of untested water for preparation of sweets, house fly infestation in the display area were a few common complaints noticed, the note said. Floor broken in ‘tiffins’ section, absence of medical records of workers, dirty condition of the oven, food handlers not wearing gloves and hairnets and open dustbins were other common observations.

The food business operators are being asked to adhere to the hygiene standards and label the food items properly in the display, mentioning the date of preparation and shelf life, the note said.