Festive demand raises both orders and inspections. The Hindu, 25 October 2026, reported Telangana's TG SAFE drive on 23 October: 53 sweet shops, bakeries and dairy units checked; 38 samples collected on suspicion of adulteration; improvement notices planned for 20 premises. This is general information, not medical or legal advice.
🧹 What failed on the floor
Damaged flooring with waste, clogged drains, dirty walls, missing pest-control and handler health records, missing hairnets and gloves, greasy chimneys, food on the floor, and food stored with non-food items.
🛍️ Shopper habits that still help
- Choose premises that look maintained during peak queues.
- For loose sweets, look for a best-before display (FSSAI expectation since 2020).
- Prefer transparent ingredient stories for fruit- or nut-led festive boxes — compare gift types in our mithai vs dry fruit vs fruit hamper guide.
Sources
Questions
Should I avoid mithai this Diwali?
No blanket ban. Prefer shops that look clean, show dates on loose sweets, and can speak to their licence. Not medical advice.
What were inspectors looking at?
Hygiene and suspected adulteration in sweets, bakery and dairy units — floors, drains, handler records, storage and sampling.
Link to colours?
Unauthorised colours are a recurring festive risk elsewhere in India; see our [Diwali mithai colours guide](/diwali-mithai-colours-banned-dyes-guide/).
More in Everyday eating
- Delhi festive sweets crackdown: safer fruit-dessert reading for shoppersIndian Express reported Delhi food safety teams destroying over 900 kg of sweets and dairy items in a late-October 2026 festive drive. How shoppers can read safer festive dessert choices, including fruit-led concepts. General information, not medical advice.
- Fruit-shaped ice cream trend in India: pulp, look and portion realityHyderabad coverage on 26 October 2026 spotlighted fruit-shaped ice creams sold as playful Fruit Pops. Lid art is not the same as fruit solids — how to read pulp claims. General information, not medical advice.
- Reading ice cream labels after date-batch drives in 2026After Patna and other state drives flagged ice cream without batch numbers or manufacturing dates, a shopper checklist for date marks, pulp vs flavouring and sugars. General information, not medical advice.