Hyderabad: Senior IPS officer Avinash Mohanty has assumed charge as the Commissioner of the newly established Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE).
Mohanty took charge on Monday, August 17, following the Telangana government’s decision to bring the state’s food safety and drug regulatory departments under a single administrative framework. The new authority is intended to improve monitoring and enforcement related to food and medicines across Telangana.
Food and drug departments brought together
TG SAFE was created by combining the Food Safety Department and the Drugs Control Administration (DCA). The unified arrangement officially came into effect on August 15 following a government order issued by the Health Department.
The authority will operate under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, with the aim of ensuring that food products and medicines meet prescribed safety and quality requirements.
Six wings under TG SAFE
The newly formed authority will function through six major wings: Drug Administration, Food Safety, Enforcement, Legal and Prosecution, Laboratory, and Administration.
The Drug Administration and Food Safety wings will continue their regulatory responsibilities, including licensing, inspections, sample collection, testing and enforcement. The Enforcement wing will assist these departments through intelligence gathering, risk-based inspections and support for prosecution.
The Legal and Prosecution wing will handle legal assistance and prosecution-related matters, while the Laboratory wing will bring food and drug testing laboratories under a common administrative structure. The Administration wing will manage areas such as personnel, finances, accounts and other organisational requirements.
Police support for enforcement
The government also plans to provide police personnel to support TG SAFE’s enforcement activities. The additional enforcement mechanism is expected to help the authority deal more effectively with violations involving unsafe, adulterated, spurious or substandard food and medicines.
