A Hyderabad chocolate unit was raided on June 4, 2026 for missing batch numbers, expiry dates, suspected expired additives, and FSSAI licence misuse. Over 200 kg of products were seized.
Vignette Food Specialities Pvt. Ltd., a chocolate manufacturing and repacking unit at Seetarambagh in Old Mallepally, Hyderabad, was raided on June 4, 2026 by the Hyderabad Food Adulteration and Safety Team (H-FAST) in a joint operation with the Food Safety Department and Habeebnagar police. Owner Konda Karthik was booked for alleged violations of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the labelling regulations framed under it.
The raid found packed chocolate products on the premises without manufacturing dates, batch numbers, expiry dates, or best-before dates. These declarations are not optional: FSSAI's Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 require every pre-packaged food to carry all of these on the label before it reaches a consumer. Beyond the labelling gaps, inspectors found flavours, essences, and colouring agents that were suspected to have crossed their expiry dates and were allegedly still being used in production.
Officials also alleged that the unit was marketing products using the FSSAI licence number of an older registration rather than its current manufacturing licence, a practice that makes traceability and recall nearly impossible if a product causes harm. Pest control records were absent, and food handlers had no medical fitness certificates on file, both of which are standard hygiene requirements under Schedule 4 of the FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.
The team seized roughly 200 kg of caramel chocolate (20 boxes), 20 kg of choco balls, three cartons of chocolate sticks, 40 boxes of marshmallow and jujube products, 32 cranberry chocolates, 22 paan chocolates, and 18 cashew chocolates. Four panning machines and two chocolate melting machines were also taken. The accused and all seized material were handed to Habeebnagar police for further legal action.
What changed, and why it matters
This raid is one of several H-FAST operations in 2025-26 targeting small and mid-size food processors in Hyderabad's older commercial neighbourhoods. Old Mallepally sits close to the city's wholesale confectionery supply belt, and units there often source bulk chocolate compound, flavours, and colouring agents from traders rather than direct manufacturers. That supply chain makes it harder to verify additive quality and shelf life.
The specific violations here touch on two separate consumer risks. First, missing date declarations mean a buyer has no way to know whether a product is within its intended shelf life. Second, expired flavouring agents and synthetic colouring agents are not inert once they degrade. While FSSAI has not published a public advisory on this specific seizure, the agency's guidance on permitted food additives is clear that additives must be used within their stated shelf life and within the permitted quantity limits set in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
The licence number misuse is a separate but serious problem. When a food business uses a defunct or mismatched FSSAI licence on packaging, regulators cannot quickly trace the product back to the correct manufacturing unit during a recall or outbreak investigation. Consumers who scan or check the licence number on the FSSAI consumer portal may also see a different business name, which erodes the basic trust the licensing system is meant to create.
What buyers and home cooks should do
If you buy chocolates or confectionery from local sweet shops, gift stores, or wholesale markets in Hyderabad, the label is your first checkpoint. Every legitimate pre-packaged product must show the FSSAI licence number, the manufacturer's full name and address, the batch or lot number, the date of manufacture, and the best-before or expiry date. If any of these are missing, that is a violation, not a minor oversight.
You can verify an FSSAI licence number at the FSSAI FoSCoS portal by entering the 14-digit number printed on the pack. If the name and address that come up do not match what is on the label, the product may be using a misappropriated or outdated licence, exactly the situation alleged at Vignette Food Specialities.
For colouring agents specifically: FSSAI permits only certain synthetic colours in chocolate and confectionery, and only at defined maximum levels. Products with vivid, unnatural colours and no ingredient list are a practical red flag. A product that lists "permitted food colour" without naming the colour (for example, Sunset Yellow FCF or Tartrazine) is also not fully compliant with labelling norms, because consumers with sensitivities or parents of children with attention-related concerns need to know which specific colour is present.
If you come across a product you suspect is non-compliant, you can file a complaint through the FSSAI consumer grievance portal or directly with the Telangana Food Safety Commissioner's office. H-FAST operates on tip-offs as well as planned inspections, so consumer reports do feed into enforcement decisions.
The investigation at Habeebnagar police station is ongoing. FSSAI has not yet published a formal product recall or public advisory related to this unit as of the date of this article.