Hyderabad: Ice cream unit busted for allegedly using expired ingredients

Hyderabad police raided an ice cream manufacturing unit in Ramanthapur and allegedly found expired food colours, fungus-infested dried figs and unlabelled ingredients. The owner was taken into custody as officials investigate the scale of distribution and possible violations of food safety norms.

Hyderabad: The humble ice cream has now found itself at the centre of an alarming food adulteration incident in the city.

What is meant to be a refreshing treat has instead become a potential health hazard after police uncovered an alleged racket involving the use of expired and contaminated ingredients in ice cream production.

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Acting on credible information, the Uppal Special Operations Team (SOT) raided an ice cream manufacturing unit operating under the name Sri Lakshmi Dairy Products in Laxminarayana Colony, Ramanthapur. The surprise inspection revealed what officials described as serious violations of food safety norms.

During the raid, officers allegedly found expired synthetic food colours and flavouring agents, fungus-infested dried figs, unlabelled raw materials, and loose tutti-frutti being used in the preparation of ice cream.

The team seized around 2 kgs of mould-infested dried figs, multiple boxes and containers of expired food colours and flavours, besides nearly 1.5 kgs of loose tutti-frutti suspected to have been used in production.

The unit’s owner, M Ramesh, was taken into custody and handed over to Uppal police along with the seized material for further action.

According to the police, preliminary questioning revealed that the accused had allegedly been using expired food colours, flavouring agents and unlabelled ingredients to cut production costs before supplying the finished ice cream to local retail outlets.

Officials are now trying to determine the quantity of products sold and identify the shops where the ice cream was distributed.

Police authorities have warned that stringent action will be taken against anyone found manufacturing or selling adulterated or expired food products.