Hyderabad, April 6 (RAHNUMA): Minister for Health Damodar Raja Narasimha flagged off the food safety awareness walkathon at Jal Vihar, Necklace Road, Hyderabad on Monday.
About 1,000 students and young individuals took part in the event, which took place with great enthusiasm, progressing from Jalavihar to the HMDA Grounds adjacent to IMAX.
Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha participated in the walk from Jalavihar to the HMDA Grounds, accompanied by notable figures including Health Department Principal Secretary Christina Z. Chongthu, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Sajjanar, Food Safety Commissioner Sangeetha Satyanarayana, Hyderabad Collector Harichandana, among others.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said over the past few years, significant changes have taken place in people’s dietary habits and lifestyles. “Due to busy lifestyles and rapid urbanisation, the practice of cooking at home has declined.
Consequently, dining out at hotels and restaurants, as well as the consumption of processed foods, has increased tremendously. Unfortunately, some people are exploiting this situation and engaging in the adulteration of almost every food item,” he pointed out.
The Minister stated that the consumption of adulterated and substandard food is leading to severe health problems and people who consume adulterated and substandard food are falling victim to gastrointestinal ailments.
“Doctors state that, in the long run, such food is also a contributing factor to conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart and kidney diseases, and obesity.
Unhealthy dietary habits stand as a primary reason for the rising burden of non-communicable diseases across Telangana, including Hyderabad. Due to these illnesses, people are suffering not only physically but also financially. Indirectly, all of this is impacting the state’s economy,” Raja Narasimha said.
The Minister stated that continuous inspections and enforcement drives are being conducted statewide through the coordinated efforts of the Food Safety and Police departments.
“Over the past two years, we have conducted more than 11,000 inspections and have taken strict action against those involved in food adulteration,” he said.
The Minister further stated that the government is initiating legal action against hotels and restaurants that prepare and sell food using substandard or adulterated ingredients.
“In the future, we will further intensify these inspections and continue to take action without any compromise.We are also taking measures to further strengthen the food safety enforcement mechanism,” he said.
The Minister said the State government has also appointed 24 new Food Inspectors and have deployed 5 mobile food testing vehicles. In addition to this, the government has decided to establish three new Regional Food Testing Laboratories in the Nizamabad, Hanamkonda, and Mahabubnagar regions at a cost of ₹15 crore, he added.
