FSSAI suspends three Hyderabad sweet shops ahead of Deepavali; 1,035 kg food products seized

The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) suspended the FSSAI licences of three Hyderabad sweet shops and seized 1,035 kg of food products worth Rs 7.76 lakh on October 24, 2026, after inspecting 21 sweet manufacturing and retail units in the city ahead of Deepavali.

The drive was carried out by 11 teams of food safety officers and police personnel. Three establishments received immediate licence suspensions with orders to halt operations: Vasireddy Swagruha Foods in Prashanth Nagar, Kukatpally; Madhur Sweets in Humayun Nagar, Masab Tank; and B. Bicha Reddy Sweets in Chandanagar. A fourth shop, Sudershan Reddy Pure Ghee Sweets in Tarnaka, was ordered to close for operating without any FSSAI licence at all.

What the inspectors actually found

The violations go beyond the vague "hygiene issues" that enforcement press releases often cite. At Madhur Sweets, inspectors documented cockroaches and pests inside food products, sweets covered with curtains and newspapers, an incorrect licence category, expired packed food items, non-food-grade rose water in use, and missing pest control and food-handler health records. TG SAFE seized 705 kg of food products worth Rs 5.63 lakh from this single establishment, which is the bulk of the total seizure.

At B. Bicha Reddy Sweets in Chandanagar, the picture was different but no less serious: algal growth on walls, rat droppings, cobwebs, rusted equipment, slippery and uneven flooring, and expired products. Inspectors seized 330 kg of ghee worth Rs 2.13 lakh specifically for improper labelling, which under FSSAI regulations means the product cannot be traced to a verified source, batch, or manufacture date.

At Sudershan Reddy Pure Ghee Sweets in Tarnaka, the shop had no FSSAI licence at all. Inspectors found unhygienic and slippery flooring, expired food, pest infestation, rusty and greasy exhausts, and no pest control documentation.

The use of non-food-grade rose water at Madhur Sweets deserves attention. Rose water sold for cosmetic or general use is not manufactured under food-safe conditions and may contain contaminants or preservatives not approved for consumption under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations. Buying sweets from a shop that uses such ingredients is a direct food safety risk, not a labelling technicality.

Why festive-season enforcement matters

Sweet shops in India see their highest production volumes in the weeks before Diwali, Eid, and Christmas. Demand spikes push many units to cut corners: sourcing cheaper or unlabelled ingredients, skipping pest control cycles, and storing finished products in conditions that would not pass routine inspection. TG SAFE's October 24 drive is part of a pattern. An earlier inspection round in Hyderabad seized 15 tonnes of adulterated and unhygienic food from sweets and savoury units, and a separate operation seized 1,950 kg of adulterated pheni ahead of Dasara and Diwali.

The FSSAI licence suspension mechanism under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Section 32) allows a Designated Officer to suspend a licence if there is an imminent risk to public health. Suspension is not the same as cancellation: a shop can apply for reinstatement after demonstrating corrective action. That means some of these establishments could reopen within days if they satisfy the inspecting officer, which is a limitation of the current framework.

TG SAFE also collected 21 food samples from across the inspected units for adulteration testing. Results from those samples have not been published yet. Six establishments received improvement notices and face reinspection: Meethe Miya in Banjara Hills, Majestic Sweets in Tolichowki, Shiva Nagi Reddy Sweets in Jeedimetla, Godavari Vantillu in Vengal Rao Nagar, Shubham Home Foods, and Pramada's Sweets, Hots and Pickles in Indira Park. Whether any of these six will face licence action depends on the reinspection findings, which TG SAFE has not scheduled publicly.

What buyers should do before purchasing festival sweets

FSSAI requires every food business operator to display their licence number at the point of sale. Before buying sweets from any shop, check that a current FSSAI licence is visible. You can verify a licence number on the FoSCoS portal maintained by FSSAI. A licence number alone does not guarantee quality, but its absence is a clear red flag.

For packaged sweets, check the label for: the manufacturer's name and address, FSSAI licence number, batch number, date of manufacture, best-before date, and a full ingredient list. Under FSSAI labelling regulations, all additives must be declared by their functional class and either their name or INS number. If a packaged mithai lists "permitted food colour" without naming the colour or its INS number, that is a non-compliant label.

For loose sweets sold by weight, ask the shop directly whether they use food-grade ingredients and whether their pest control records are current. A shop that cannot answer that question, or refuses to, is telling you something.

If you spot a violation at any food establishment, you can file a complaint through the FSSAI consumer grievance portal or call the food safety helpline at 1800-112-100. TG SAFE also accepts complaints through the Telangana government's grievance channels.

The adulteration test results from the 21 samples collected on October 24 will determine whether any of the remaining shops face further action. TG SAFE has not announced a timeline for releasing those results.