By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : August 17, 2026 11:35 am
New unified authority aims to strengthen regulatory oversight and enforcement under the Food Safety and Standards Act and Drugs and Cosmetics Act, as state moves to curb spurious and substandard products
The Government of Telangana has issued orders establishing a unified regulatory body, the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE), through the merger of the state's Food Safety Department and Drugs Control Department.
Within the new functional structure, the Commissioner of TG SAFE will serve as the unified administrative control for both the Food Safety and Drug Control Departments.
The order, G.O.Ms.No. 67, was issued by the Health, Medical & Family Welfare Department on August 4, 2026.
According to the order, the move comes amid a rising volume of licensed food business operators in Telangana, creating a need to strengthen compliance and enforcement under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, to prevent unsafe, spurious and substandard food and drugs and protect public health.
The Food Safety Department, which has functioned under the Commissioner of Food Safety, and the Drugs Control Department, which has operated independently since 1981, have separately regulated food, drugs and cosmetics through licensing, inspection, sampling, testing and enforcement.
The government noted that similar single-line administrative integrations of food and drug departments have already been successfully adopted in several other states across the country.
The order clarifies that the unified administration will preserve the statutory provisions under both the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, with the respective statutory authorities and officers continuing to exercise their powers independently in accordance with the relevant enactments.