With lakhs relying on street food in Hyderabad, Food Safety dept. focusing on training vendors

Every day, lakhs of residents across Telangana rely on food cooked on pavements and street corners for their daily meals. But a vast majority of the vendors behind this thriving street-food economy remain outside the State’s food safety licensing and inspection net, raising serious questions about regulatory oversight and accountability.

Telangana’s Commissioner of Food Safety Sangeetha Satyanarayana said a large number of street food vendors in the State do not fall within the mandatory licensing or registration system as their turnovers often remain below the prescribed threshold. “As a result, many vendors handling cooked food consumed daily by large sections of the public continue to operate beyond the formal ambit of the Food Safety Department,” she said.

Speaking to The Hindu, the Commissioner acknowledged that the absence of licences or registrations keeps these vendors largely outside routine regulatory supervision. She said this limits the department’s ability to carry out inspections or initiate legal action to enforce food safety standards, despite the public health implications.

Given these limitations, the department has adopted a strategy that prioritises training and awareness over strict enforcement for street vendors. Officials are focusing on educating vendors about basic food safety norms, hygiene practices and proper food handling methods while also creating awareness about the need for registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act.

She said the department is first concentrating on bringing food business operators (FBOs) who are clearly required to register into the regulatory system. This includes traders operating in mandis and vegetable markets, where a substantial number of businesses continue to remain undeclared.

FBO melas are being used as a key mechanism to bridge this gap. Through these melas, the department conducts on-the-spot registrations and renewals, along with training programmes aimed at improving compliance with food safety standards. These initiatives are also intended to reach small vendors who may otherwise remain outside the formal system.