Our focus is on food, drug safety aspects

Avinash Mohanty, 2005 batch IPS officer, is the first Commissioner of Telangana Standards Authority for Food & Essential Drugs (TG SAFE), a unified regulatory body formed by the Government of Telangana in August 2026 by merging the Food Safety Department and the Drugs Control Administration. It was set up on the lines of HYDRAA, EAGLE FORCE to streamline the food and medicine establishments and ensure supply of quality products. TG SAFE is now cracking the whip on sweets shops, restaurants, and medical stores, including dark stores,in the Core Urban Region Economy (CURE) limits.

Avinash Mohanty, who is supported by limited staff, for the regulatory body’s searches in CURE limits, shared the high points of TG SAFE’s functioning and his plans with The Hans India. Excerpts:

Could you explain the salient features of TG SAFE and its functioning in the CURE limits?

Well, for the first time in India, the Telangana government established the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) by merging the Food Safety and Drugs Control Departments under a unified administration. The initiative aims to strengthen food and drug safety, compliance, surveillance, and enforcement, while preserving statutory powers. TG SAFE will operate through dedicated food, drug, enforcement, legal, laboratory, and administrative wings. TG SAFE is a specialised enforcement wing to monitor safety of food and drugs, which is essential for people, on the lines of EAGLE FORCE, HYDRAA.

What are the focus areas of TG SAFE in CURE limits?

The TG SAFE focuses on two factors such as the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSS Act), which is the primary central legislation governing food safety, manufacturing, storage, distribution, sale, and adulteration in Telangana, while the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 is a key piece of legislation passed in India to regulate the import, manufacture, distribution, and sale of drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices. The TG SAFE initiates searches on restaurants, medical shops,sweet shops as well as hostels where food supplytakes place, to check adulterated food and to prevent supply of banned/inappropriate medicine as well as medicine sale at shops without a doctor’s prescription.

Over the past two months of TG SAFE’s functioning, how many cases have been registered in CURE limits?

Our staff have conducted searches, along with the law and order police and food inspectors, at different places focusing on the food safety aspects. We have conducted raids on more than 500 medical shops and more than 500 sweet shops, restaurants, food establishments located at different places in the city. The TG SAFE also suspended Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licences of food establishments and drug licences of medical shops found violating rules.

TG SAFE has intensified searches and found violations in famous sweet shops in the city and cancelled FSSAI licences. Did you receive any political pressure from businessmen?

The TG SAFE has been formed to implement certain laws relating to food safety to prevent adulteration of food and ensure hygiene during preparation of food items for the larger purpose of ensuring people’s health. There has been no political pressure on TG SAFE officials. After the TG SAFE cancelled the licences, the food establishments were told to rectify their kitchen and manufacturing units for preparing quality food and then inform TG SAFE officials. Once this is done, a team of officials will then inspect the premises once again. The TG SAFE officials will give a report on enhanced safety measures and based on the report, the TG SAFE will restore the licences.

What are the plans to strengthen the TG SAFE?

Well, we have certain plans to strengthen the enforcement wing further by sending proposals to the government to allot at least 150 new staffers to join the team to carry out searches. We also proposed that a separate legal team be formed for the TG SAFE to deal with the cases in the court of law to get conviction of accused establishments. We have two laboratories such as a drug-related lab located at TG SAFE office premises and a food safety lab located at Nacharam. We will plan to increase the numbers of labs, experts and technicians to examine food samples and prepare reports so that the enforcement staff can take swift action against errant establishments.

What exactly do TG SAFE officials look for during the searches?

The TG SAFE officials, especially, enforcement staff, inspect the kitchen of food establishments with regard to quality of ingredients used in the making of food items and cleanliness of the premises used to make food so as to ensure that only clean and safe food is served to people. We noticed a number of food establishments violating rules and found adulterated food, rotten material, unhygienic food, and noticed cockroaches in the kitchen. Our team serves notices for improvement for small lapses in any food establishments. Show-cause notices will be served to establishments found making serious violations, seeking explanations and they will also be asked to rectify and ensure safety measures. Finally, our staff issue orders on spot suspending FSSAI licences after collecting samples for lab testing. If there are any grave violations, the TG SAFE will refer such incidents to the concerned police station to register criminal cases against the owner of establishments for taking action as per law.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mouli Mareedu

Mouli Mareedu