Maharashtra FDA Suspends 892 Licences, Seizes ₹50-Crore Of Adulterated Food In Six Months

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Mumbai: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has conducted a massive quality assurance drive across the state over the past six months. In a press briefing on Thursday, Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said that since the drive began in April, the regulator has inspected more than 19,713 food establishments, including restaurants, dark stores, milk product manufacturers and retailers, as well as edible oil manufacturers and retailers.

During this drive, the regulator suspended 892 licences and issued 1,538 stop-business notices due to violations. Of the total inspections, 5,335 were conducted across hotels, restaurants, dhabas and other food establishments, resulting in 585 licence suspensions and 15 cancellations.

The widespread inspection drive has been underway since Mundhe took charge of the Maharashtra FDA in May.

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The regulator also launched a special statewide drive to curb the sale, storage, and transport of prohibited items like gutkha, pan masala, and scented tobacco, Mundhe said. During inspections across 1,472 locations, officials discovered banned items at 1,411 establishments and seized inventory valued at ₹27.86 crore. Authorities have registered 1,175 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 1,529 individuals, filed charge sheets in 96 cases, and sealed 837 establishments. Additionally, 205 vehicles worth ₹13.61 crore used to transport the contraband have been confiscated.

Beyond this, authorities seized suspected, substandard, and adulterated food items valued at ₹50.63 crore. The Maharashtra FDA inspected over 3,000 establishments selling milk and milk products, seizing 203,622 liters of milk worth ₹21.01 crore. In addition, officials confiscated stock of milk products valued at ₹7.99 crore, registered 19 FIRs, and arrested 65 individuals.

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The regulator also stepped up its crackdown on analogue paneer. Following the Analogue Paneer Prohibition Notification, authorities canceled 16 licences for analogue paneer. Across 57 inspections where analogue paneer was detected in establishments, officials seized 22,241 kg of stock valued at ₹5.76 lakh.

Complaints portal

In July, the regulator launched a public portal to register complaints against establishments. Mundhe noted that nearly 50% of the complaints received today target dark stores, which function as quick-commerce fulfillment warehouses.

The platform has logged over 13,857 complaints with a 71.8% resolution rate. However, Mundhe added that the portal has also been used to lodge false complaints. The regulator has deployed artificial intelligence to assist in filtering these, rejecting more than 11,491 submissions for failing to meet basic filing criteria.

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Nearly 94% of total complaints pertain to food standards, with the remaining balance involving drug standards. About 10% of all portal submissions were classified as critical, and the regulator takes a median of 15.1 days to resolve grievances.

Mundhe added that state regulators and central bodies such as FSSAI are holding discussions to introduce stricter rules for cloud kitchens and dark stores, which currently occupy a regulatory grey area due to gaps in current laws.

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