Maharashtra FDA suspends 892 licenses, seizes ₹50 crore of adulterated food in six months | Today’s news
Bombay: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has conducted a massive quality drive across the state over the past six months. At a press briefing on Thursday, FDA commissioner for Maharashtra state Tukaram Mundhe said that since the start of proceedings in April, the regulator has inspected more than 19,713 food establishments, including restaurants, dark shops, dairy producers and sellers, as well as edible oil producers and sellers.
During that drive, the regulator suspended 892 licenses and issued 1,538 cease-and-desist notices for violations. Of the total inspections, 5,335 were conducted in hotels, restaurants, dhabas and other food establishments, resulting in 585 license suspensions and 15 cancellations.
A massive inspection drive has been underway since Mundhe took charge of the Maharashtra FDA office in May.
Gutkha, pan masala, fragrant tobacco
The regulator has also launched a special nationwide drive to curb the sale, storage and transportation of banned items such as gutkha, pan masala and incense, Mundhe said. During inspections at 1,472 locations, officers discovered prohibited items at 1,411 establishments and seized inventory worth ₹27.86 million crowns. Authorities have registered 1,175 First Information Reports (FIRs), arrested 1,529 people, filed charges in 96 cases and sealed 837 businesses. In addition, 205 vehicles worth ₹13.61 lakh used for transporting contraband was seized.
In addition, the authorities confiscated suspicious, substandard and adulterated food in the price ₹50.63 million crowns. Maharashtra FDA inspected more than 3,000 establishments selling milk and milk products and seized 203,622 liters worth of milk ₹21.01 million crowns. In addition, officials seized stock worth of dairy products ₹7.99 crore, 19 FIRs registered and 65 individuals arrested.
The regulator has also stepped up its crackdown on analogue paneer. After the announcement of the ban on analogue paneer, the authorities canceled the 16th license for analog paneer. In 57 checks where analogue paneer was found in the establishments, officials seized 22,241 kg of stock worth ₹5.76 million.
Complaints portal
In July, the regulator launched a public portal for registering complaints about establishments. Mundhe noted that almost 50% of the complaints we receive today focus on dark shops that act as quick trade warehouses.
The platform has recorded more than 13,857 complaints with a resolution rate of 71.8%. However, Mundhe added that the portal was also being used to lodge false complaints. The regulator deployed artificial intelligence to help filter them, rejecting more than 11,491 submissions for not meeting basic submission criteria.
Almost 94% of the total complaints concern food standards, with the remaining balance comprising drug standards. About 10% of all submissions to the portal have been classified as critical, and the regulator takes an average of 15.1 days to resolve complaints.
Mundhe added that state regulators and central agencies such as FSSAI are in discussions to introduce stricter rules for cloud kitchens and dark shops, which currently occupy a regulatory gray area due to loopholes in current laws.
