Hyderabad: Telangana Health Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha on Monday said that the state government will establish a special mechanism to check food adulteration and take tough measures against those involved in it.

The proposed measures include invoking the provisions of the Preventive Detention Act, he said, speaking after flagging off a food safety awareness walkathon here.

Observing that the state government has set up EAGLE Force (Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement) to check the menace of drugs, he said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has resolved that a special unit be formed to check food contamination.

The government has appointed 24 new food inspectors and introduced five new mobile testing vehicles, the minister said.

The government has decided to establish three new regional food testing laboratories at Nizamabad, Mahabubngar and Hanumakonda, he added.

Asserting that the government has been conducting enforcement drive and joint checks by police and food safety officials, he said about 11,000 such checks have been conducted during the last two years.

The health minister said unhealthy eating habits among people lead to a rise in non-communicable diseases in Telangana, including Hyderabad.

Consumption of spurious food is causing health issues related to digestion and others, he added.

Rajanarasimha also said rapid urbanisation and busy lifestyle has led to a decline in cooking food at home.

Following the expansion of the food industry, there are about 1.41 lakh establishments in the state involved in food business. The government encourages food industry as it provides jobs, but expects its "growth with responsibility", he said.

This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.