FSSAI suspends two Hyderabad dairy units for food safety violations after inspection drive

TG SAFE, the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs, suspended the FSSAI licences of two dairy businesses on 22 September 2026 and ordered both to stop operations immediately in the interest of public health.

The two units are M/s Sapthagiri Foods, located on Sagar Road in Karmanghat, and All Rich Dairy Private Limited, whose location was not separately specified in the authority's statement. The suspensions followed a single-day enforcement drive in which 10 teams of Food Safety Officers and police personnel inspected 20 dairy establishments across Hyderabad.

A third unit, Venkata Shiva Milk Point in Hayathnagar, was shut down on the spot for operating without any FSSAI licence at all. Show-cause notices were issued to Saritha Dairy, Sri Sai Dairy Products, and Milky Plus Foods Private Limited (which trades as Gayathri Dairy), with penalties proposed. Ten other establishments received improvement notices and will be reinspected to check whether violations have been corrected.

TG SAFE lifted 18 samples from the inspected units on suspicion of adulteration. Test results have not been published yet.

What the inspectors found

The violations recorded during the drive read like a checklist of conditions that FSSAI's Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 are specifically designed to prevent. Inspectors documented a heavy presence of houseflies, visible mould growth, water stagnation on floors, rusty equipment and pipes, and poor drainage. Equally concerning were the paperwork gaps: units lacked adequate records on water quality testing, pest control schedules, and the health status of food handlers.

These are not minor technicalities. Houseflies are mechanical vectors for pathogens including Salmonella and E. coli. Mould in a dairy environment can produce mycotoxins that survive pasteurisation. Rusty equipment can leach iron into product and, more critically, creates pitted surfaces where biofilms form and resist cleaning. Missing pest control and water quality records mean there is no documented evidence that the unit ever monitored these risks.

For consumers buying milk, paneer, or curd from local dairy suppliers in Hyderabad, the absence of these basic controls is a direct food safety concern, not a regulatory paperwork issue.

Why this matters for clean-label dairy buyers

India's dairy supply chain has a documented adulteration problem. FSSAI's own National Milk Safety and Quality Survey (2018) found that roughly 41% of milk samples collected nationally did not conform to standards, with detergent, urea, starch, and glucose among the adulterants detected. A 2026 enforcement drive catching violations of this severity suggests the problem has not been resolved in the years since.

For buyers who prioritise clean-label or additive-free dairy, the lesson from this drive is structural. A product can be marketed as "pure" or "natural" while being produced in a facility with mould on the walls and no pest control records. FSSAI licensing is a floor, not a quality guarantee, but operating without a licence or with a suspended one removes even that floor.

The 18 samples sent for adulteration testing are the piece of this story that matters most going forward. If results show adulteration in products that were actively being sold to Hyderabad consumers, TG SAFE is required under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to pursue prosecution. FSSAI has not released a timeline for publishing those results.

What buyers and home cooks should do

Verify the FSSAI licence number on any dairy product you buy. Every licensed food business in India is required to display its 14-digit FSSAI licence or registration number on packaging. You can cross-check that number on the FSSAI FoSCoS portal to confirm the licence is active and not suspended.

For loose or unpackaged dairy bought from local vendors, which is common in Hyderabad's residential neighbourhoods, ask the vendor for their FSSAI registration certificate. Registered businesses (smaller operators) and licensed businesses (larger ones) are both required to have documentation. A vendor who cannot produce it is operating outside the regulatory system entirely, as Venkata Shiva Milk Point in Hayathnagar was found to be doing.

If you buy branded packaged dairy from a supermarket, the FSSAI number on the pack refers to the manufacturing unit. A suspended licence at a contract manufacturer can affect branded products too, though brands are required to notify FSSAI if their manufacturing partner's licence status changes.

For those who make dairy-based foods at home, including paneer, curd, or ghee, sourcing from a licensed supplier with a clean inspection record is the only way to control what goes into the base ingredient. No amount of careful home cooking compensates for adulterated or pathogen-contaminated raw milk.

TG SAFE has said reinspections of the 10 units issued improvement notices will happen, and further action will follow based on those findings. The authority has not announced a date for the reinspections or for publishing the adulteration test results. Clean Label Guide will update this article when those results are available.