Hyderabad: In a major crackdown on food adulteration, the Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST) of the Commissioner’s Task Force, in coordination with the Food Safety Department, seized around 36 tonnes of adulterated ghee, raw materials and chemical additives during a special enforcement drive across the Hyderabad Police Commissionerate.

The joint teams conducted simultaneous inspections at *130 establishments, including 39 ghee manufacturing units and 91 outlets selling ghee. Officials allegedly found manufacturers preparing synthetic ghee by mixing cheaper ingredients such as *palm oil, vanaspati, skimmed milk powder and starch with artificial ghee flavours and other chemical substances.

Hyderabad Commissioner of Police VC Sajjanar said the teams seized around 25.5 tonnes of adulterated ghee and 8.7 tonnes of cream, along with 1,200 litres of palm oil, 600 litres of vanaspati and other additives.

Officials said the level of adulteration reportedly ranged between *10 and 40 percent. The products were allegedly packed and marketed under labels such as *“100 Percent Pure Ghee”, “Premium Ghee”, “Farm Fresh Ghee” and “Natural Ghee.”** Several packages were also found to be missing mandatory details, including FSSAI licence numbers, batch or lot numbers, and manufacturing and expiry dates.

According to officials, the synthetic ghee was allegedly supplied to restaurants, tiffin centres, sweet shops, bakeries, caterers, dairy outlets and Ayurvedic medicine stores across Telangana and neighbouring states.

Investigators said manufacturers procured milk cream from different states and used cheaper substitutes to produce adulterated ghee at a lower cost before selling it as genuine ghee at higher prices. Food safety officials collected samples for laboratory testing, while the seized material was handed over to the Food Safety authorities for further legal action.

Health officials warned that unauthorised oils and chemical additives used in adulterated products may increase trans-fat intake and pose risks to cardiovascular health. Prolonged consumption may also lead to digestive and other health-related problems.

Commissioner VC Sajjanar urged consumers to purchase ghee and other dairy products only from reputed and licensed vendors and to carefully check packaging and FSSAI details before making a purchase.

Citizens can report suspected food adulteration by calling Dial 112 or the H-FAST helpline at 8712661212.