Telangana State Food Laboratory (SFL) has officially deemed Cadbury Dairy Milk (Roasted Almond) as “unsafe to consume” following the discovery of white worms and webs in a chocolate bar purchased by Hyderabad resident Robin Zaccheus from a Ratnadeep retail outlet.
The Chief Public Analyst of the State Food Laboratory of Telangana stated in a report, “I am of the opinion that the sample contains white worms and webs. Hence, it is considered unsafe under Section 3.1(zz)(iii)(ix) of the Food Safety & Standard Act, 2006.”
Out of the two Dairy Milk chocolates submitted by Robin for testing, the one with roasted almonds was flagged as unsafe due to the presence of white worms and webs, while the second chocolate — Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut — was labelled as “not unsafe”.
The incident unfolded on 9 February when Robin Zaccheus posted video clips showcasing a live worm crawling on a freshly-opened Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar with roast almonds. The footage included the bill from Ratnadeep supermarket at the Ameerpet Metro Railway Station.
“Found a worm crawling in Cadbury chocolate purchased at Ratnadeep Retail at Ameerpet Metro station on 9 February. Is there a quality check for these near-to-expiry products? Who is responsible for public health hazards?” he asked, tagging the manufacturer Dairy Milk, Ratnadeep, L&T Metro, and GHMC authorities in a post on X.
On 12 February, food safety officials from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) conducted an inspection of the supermarket chain store in response to the complaint.