Summer shock: City juice centres found flouting food safety norms

Hyderabad: As the summer season peaks, people are preferring fruit juices to stay hydrated, but the raid by Telangana State Food Safety Department has raised concerns about the safety in these juice shops. The raid, conducted in Hyderabad on Thursday, resulted in revealing the presence of unauthorised and potentially harmful ingredients. The task force team found cockroaches, houseflies, rotten fruits and several food safety violations.

With the summer sun beating relentlessly and causing sunstroke and sunburn, a juice stall is like an oasis in the desert, however the surprise inspections of juice centres by the food safety inspectors uncovered alarming food safety violations, with some found operating without FSSAI license.

The food safety officers on Thursday inspected the top juice centres including Bombay Juice, Natural Flavors, KGN Juice, Coconut Juice Bar, and A1 Fruit Juice Centre all located in Ameerpet area.

Officials at Bombay Juice discovered several hygiene violations, including the presence of rotten fruits and vegetables, absence of pest control records, lack of medical fitness certificates, and no water analysis report. Additionally, the refrigerator walls were found to be rusty and highly unsanitary. Food handlers were seen chewing tobacco while preparing food, not wearing aprons or gloves, and the exhaust fan was coated in grime with oil droplets visibly dripping from it. At Coconut Juice Bar, officers found insects and cockroaches in the refrigerator, use of rotten fruits, no pest control records, medical records and water analysis reports and the preparation area was in an unhygienic condition.

The Task Force team at Natural Flavors found them operating without a license. Expired fruit syrups – pineapple crush, blackcurrant crush, orange crush, blue curacao, banana crush were found and discarded. Soda bottles were found unlabelled without any manufacturing and expiry date. Additionally, several cockroaches were found in the refrigerator and no pest control records, medical records and water analysis reports were present.

KGN Juice Centre was also found operating without license. Several houseflies were found in the juice preparation area, spoiled fruit salad was stored for sale, and unlabelled food articles were found. Also, the refrigerator was highly unhygienic and the entire premises were unhygienic.

The officers at A1 Fruit and Juice Centre found it was running the business without a valid license. Iron knives were found which were rusty and the refrigerator was highly rusty and in an unhygienic condition. There was no proper drainage system in the preparation area and water analysis reports, pest control reports and medical certificates for food handlers were not available.

The Commissioner of Food Safety has made it clear that strict action will be taken against all establishments violating food safety laws. All establishments operating without a valid FSSAI license or registration will be closed, after giving notice as per the FSS Act, 2006.