People in the city are more likely to fall prey to food poisoning while eating out than in most other cities across the country, all thanks to the fact that authorities in Telangana are hardly checking the quality of food available.
According to the annual public laboratory testing report 2015, released by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Telangana stands at a lowly 22nd place among all the states in terms of the food samples it analysed for adulteration.
FSSAI said in its report that till November 24 this year, food safety inspectors in the state got only 312 samples tested in approved labs. In comparison, their Andhra Pradesh counterparts analysed as many as 2,788 food samples during the same period.
And this, when it is the same lab that is designated to test samples from both the states. “It is a clear case of neglect of food safety in Telangana. The food laboratory at Nacharam is the designated state lab functioning for both the states.While food safety inspectors of Telangana failed, their AP counterparts made effective use of the lab,” said Bakka Judson, a health activist.
What’s shocking is that Telangana fared worse than smaller states like Tripura, Assam and Bihar. Food safety officers in these three states got 933, 595 and 1,320 food samples analysed respectively.
It is significant to note that the number of food samples that are found to be adulterated or unhygienic increased with the total number of samples tested. The more the samples, the higher the probability of finding cases of adulteration, misbranding and un safe food.
Thus, while food inspectors in AP came across 290 cases of unsafe samples among the 2,788 it analysed, Telangana authorities found only 32 cases of adulteration this year.
“This is a huge cause of concern. We tend to eat out with friends and family during the weekends, but who is keeping a tab on what we eat?” asked Rahul Basu, one of the administrators running the Hyderabad Foodies’ Club on Facebook.
However, the reason behind Telangana sending so few samples for testing is nothing but the lack of sufficient food safety officers.”Right now, out of the 30 posts of food safety officers sanctioned in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits, only three are working. In the districts, out of the 20 sanctioned posts, 14 are working. The remaining posts have remained unfilled since bifurcation,” said a senior officer in the department.
The officer also blamed the system of dual control over citybased food safety officers one from the GHMC commissioner and the other from the commissioner of food safety .
When contacted, Dr K Amarender Reddy , director of Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM), under whose jurisdiction the Nacharambased food safety lab falls, said that the collection of food samples is the job of food safety officers, which, he acknowledged, were few.
