Six food testing labs to be set up in Hyderabad

Decision follows inspections by food safety officials that revealed deplorable conditions in the kitchens of several restaurants; the labs will be located to cover both urban and semi-urban areas with high density of restaurants

Hyderabad: With the task force teams of Telangana Commissioner of Food Safety noticing unhygienic practices in several kitchens of city restaurants, the Health Department has decided to set up new food testing labs in Hyderabad.

The department proposed six new food testing laboratories with one each in six Hyderabad zones – LB Nagar, Charminar, Khairtabad, Secunderabad, Serilingampally, and Kukatpally.

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This decision comes following a series of inspections by food safety officials that revealed deplorable conditions in the kitchens of several restaurants besides adulterated food being served under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits. The six labs will be located to cover both urban and adjoining semi-urban areas with a high density of restaurants.

The new labs are aimed at ensuring food served by the restaurants to its patrons meet quality and safety standards. Each laboratory will be equipped with modern testing equipment to detect contaminants, adulteration, and overall food hygiene. The department proposed Rs 15 crore for setting up each lab, bringing the total expenditure to Rs 90 crore.

“During our raids, we have come across some extremely unhygienic practices in some restaurants, including preserving mutton and chicken for about one month from date of packaging, use of synthetic colours and expired spices. Some restaurants were found to preserve finely ground leafy vegetables. Whenever we come across such things, we immediately discard them,” a senior Health Department official said.

As per the National Restaurant Association of India’s (NRAI) India Food Services Report 2024, there are a staggering 74,807 restaurants in both organised and unorganised food service sectors in Hyderabad. This industry in the city is estimated to be valued at a whopping Rs 10,161 crore and is sixth among the top 21 cities in organised food service sector.

However, for this mammoth number of restaurants, there is only one State food testing laboratory in Nacharam which has been handling about 1,300 to 1,500 food samples a month. After the new labs are established, the Nacharam facility will be turned into a State referral lab. This is in addition to the existing central referral lab in Mysuru and Kolkata.

“The new labs will ease the burden on the State food testing laboratory in Nacharam. It will also help generate reports quickly,” the official added.