Hans News Service Hyderabad

TheMalkajgiri Special Operations Team (SOT) and Food Adulteration Surveillance teams conducted a raid on a spices manufacturing unit at Srinivas Nagar Colony under the Medipally police station limits on Thursday and seized 10.89 tonnes of adulterated spices worth Rs 25 lakh. The teams raided Sai Tirumala Enterprises and took two persons, Sathyanarayana and Rudrashekar, into custody. The seized material was handed over to the Medipally police for further action.

According to the police, turmeric, chilli and coriander powders, along with garam masala, were being manufactured and packaged under unhygienic conditions without adhering to prescribed food safety and quality standards.

Police confiscated 2,300 kg of turmeric powder, 3,350 kg of chilli powder, 5,140 kg of coriander powder and 100 kg of garam masala. The teams also inspected the raw materials used for production and packaging, processed powders, packaging materials and machinery.

Chilli powder was found to contain 30 per cent dust, while counterfeit packaging and labels were allegedly being used to mimic genuine brands. Police said substandard food products were being attractively packaged and supplied to the market.

Malkajgiri Police Commissioner B Sumati took a serious view of adulterated food items being brought to the market by exploiting consumer trust and warned of strict action against the perpetrators.

Citizens can also provide information on suspicious activities related to adulterated food items to the number 8712662111. Police urged people to buy products only after verifying essential details such as brand name, manufacturing date, expiry or best-before date, batch number, and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) details.