Tukaram Mundhe In Action Again FDA Busts Expiry Date Racket, Seizes Maggi, Lay's, Kurkure In Navi Mumbai

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A suspected food packaging racket involving the alteration of expiry dates has been uncovered in Navi Mumbai under the leadership of Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, with officials seizing products from brands including Maggi and Lay's, the FDA said on Monday.

Following the operation, the FDA suspended the licence of Sadhana Enterprises, a firm operating in the TTC Industrial Area in Turbhe.

Expiry dates, food labels allegedly tampered with

The seized stock included potato chips and snacks such as Lay's, Kurkure variants and Fun Flips, along with Maggi Masala and Atta Noodles. Ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook food products were also among the items seized, according to the FDA.

The operation was conducted jointly by the FDA and the Navi Mumbai Police Crime Branch between August 24 and 29.

Also Read | FDA suspends licences of 5 Mumbai Cricket Association restaurants

During inspections, officials discovered that the manufacturing and expiry or use-by dates printed on food packaging were being removed and replaced.

The FDA also found that the original labels displaying information about ingredients and nutritional content were being replaced with fresh stickers. The entire stock was subsequently being repackaged, the department said.

FDA faced setbacks in Bombay HC over enforcement actions

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration faced setbacks in two enforcement cases before the Bombay High Court, which criticised the regulator for acting with "undue haste" and taking a "pedantic instead of pragmatic view."

The court directed the FDA to withdraw its order suspending the operations of five restaurants at the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) premises in Bandra-Kurla Complex after a fresh inspection found the eateries 88% compliant with food safety rules. The bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad said the eateries could reopen, while asking the FDA to issue a fresh notice to MCA and provide it a hearing over its contract with M/s Shirke Infrastructure, which operated the restaurants.

Also Read | Cipla Pharma license cancellation: FDA withdraws order after HC raps it for going \'overboard\'

The court warned of contempt action against officials, saying, "However, despite clearly saying this, the FDA has disobeyed our order and taken a pedantic view instead of a pragmatic view. We are tired of scolding the department and officers all the time. It is now time to pass stinging orders. We will issue contempt action against the concerned officers. Let them convince us or go to jail."

In a separate case, the FDA withdrew its order cancelling the drug sale licence of Cipla Pharma & Life Sciences Ltd's carrying and forwarding facility in Wadki, Pune. The licence had been cancelled from August 27 following violations linked to the packaging and recall of Reactin Plus tablets.

The court said the FDA had acted in a "high-handed" manner and that its order was "against the principles of natural justice", while questioning the regulator's procedure in the case.

(With inputs from news agency PTI)

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