MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking to reposition food and drug regulation from a seasonal enforcement exercise into a broader public-health mission, with Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe emphasising safe consumption, tighter enforcement, digital monitoring and greater citizen participation.Mundhe’s approach is built around what he calls the E3 strategy — Empower, Enable and Enforce. The vision is improved public-health outcomes, the mission is “Safe Food, Safe Drug”, and the three pillars focus on empowering citizens, enabling genuine businesses to comply and enforcing the law against those who cut corners on safety.The commissioner has argued that food and drug regulation affects citizens every day through what they eat and the medicines they consume. He has linked the issue to changing patterns of disease and consumption, pointing to the shift from communicable diseases accounting for roughly 65-70% of India’s disease burden at Independence to non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiac conditions and diabetes becoming dominant today.Mundhe has identified high-fat, high-sugar and high-salt food consumed regularly, rather than only during festivals, as one of the public-health concerns. He has also stressed that the regulator, food and drug licensees and consumers are all stakeholders in the system.
12,000 food inspections in three months
The FDA’s enforcement figures show the scale of its recent activity. Between June 1 and August 31, 2026, the department conducted 12,083 food inspections, collected 37,604 food and drug samples, issued 5,269 improvement notices and suspended 603 food licences.The department also seized food stock worth Rs 67.2 crore and reported 875 arrests in food cases during the period.On the drug side, the FDA conducted 2,902 inspections. It seized illegal medicines and cosmetics worth Rs 11.41 crore.The department also registered 644 FIRs related to gutkha, made 867 arrests in its three-month crackdown and seized banned gutkha and pan masala stocks worth Rs 19.62 crore.In another set of figures cited by the department, food-sector inspections during a recent three-month period crossed 12,000, while more than 4,500 improvement notices were issued and over 600 food licences were suspended. The drug wing inspected 607 manufacturing establishments and nearly 2,300 pharmacies. More than 32,000 of over 37,000 samples collected had been tested.Mundhe said the increase in activity had been achieved without an increase in sanctioned manpower, attributing it to tighter processes and digital systems.
AI to track complaints, inspections
Technology is a key part of the FDA’s strategy as it deals with a large regulatory workload.The department’s sanctioned strength currently stands at 1,271 staff, while a roadmap submitted by the commissioner to the government estimates that nearly three times that number would be required to meet expected regulatory norms for Maharashtra’s size and complexity.Instead of relying only on increasing manpower, the FDA is seeking to use digital tools and AI to improve monitoring.Mundhe said the objective of AI was not to replace officers but to allow existing manpower to handle a larger workload and focus human attention where it was most needed.The FDA’s online system can track the location and details of complaints and automatically assign them to an appropriate officer. A response deadline can also be defined, with higher authorities automatically alerted if action is not taken within the stipulated period.The system creates an audit trail, allowing senior officials to monitor performance in real time and reducing dependence on individual discretion.The department is also looking at combining inspection records, laboratory results, complaints, licensing information and previous violations to identify patterns and flag establishments or products requiring greater scrutiny.Mundhe described AI as a force multiplier for a regulator with limited manpower, allowing officials to “see more, respond faster” and direct resources towards areas with greater public-health impact.
Crackdown on antibiotic misuse
Antimicrobial resistance is another major concern identified by the commissioner.The FDA has tightened action against pharmacies over unscientific and unprescribed antibiotic use. Mundhe pointed to the practice of people purchasing Schedule H drugs without prescriptions and failing to complete prescribed courses.The department has cancelled and suspended hundreds of pharmacy licences as part of its enforcement efforts.The commissioner has also raised concerns about hospital pricing and access to medicines. Patients, he said, should not be forced to purchase medicines exclusively from a hospital’s in-house pharmacy and are now free to buy them elsewhere.He has also flagged margins on hospital consumables such as syringes, saline and basic disposables, saying they can reach as high as 2,000%. While the Maharashtra FDA does not have direct authority to cap such prices, he has recommended that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority bring hospital consumables under regulated pricing.The FDA is also examining whether generic medicines are delivering the level of affordability originally intended. Early findings cited in the document suggest discounts of only 10-20% off branded rates in some cases.
One-year ban on analogue paneer
The FDA has intensified sampling and enforcement against adulterated or non-compliant food products.As part of this, it imposed a one-year ban on the manufacture, storage, distribution and transportation of analogue paneer. The department said testing and reporting had helped restrict the product.The FDA is also pushing environmental measures linked to food safety, including reducing plastic in food packaging and delivery. It is working on a proposal to mandate food-grade, non-toxic ink for newsprint commonly used to wrap street food.
Food safety at weddings and events
The department has also turned its attention to food prepared at weddings, community gatherings and other large events, where large quantities of food may be prepared outside conventional commercial kitchens.The FDA has issued specific compliance guidelines for caterers and event licensees and requires registration for such operations rather than leaving them outside the regulatory framework because the events are informal.Mundhe has said the regulator cannot address public-health risks through enforcement alone and that safe consumption must become a wider public agenda.
‘Safe Food for Every School Child’
The FDA has also launched an awareness campaign aimed at schoolchildren.Under its “Safe Food for Every School Child” initiative, the department conducted 270 workshops involving 60,990 schools across Maharashtra between April 1 and September 11, 2026.The division-wise figures were:
- Greater Bombay: 10 workshops, 1,758 schools
- Konkan: 41 workshops, 7,207 schools
- Pune: 16 workshops, 6,418 schools
- Nashik: 61 workshops, 16,510 schools
- Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: 78 workshops, 16,896 schools
- Nagpur: 31 workshops, 3,934 schools
- Amravati: 33 workshops, 8,267 schools
- Maharashtra total: 270 workshops, 60,990 schools
The programme focused on nutrition, clean diets and food-safety standards.The FDA has also highlighted changes in school canteens, including replacing fried snacks and junk food with healthier alternatives. It said it has ensured a “No High Fat, Sugar & Salt” requirement within 50 metres of school premises.
‘Safe Food, Safe Drug, Safe Maharashtra’
Mundhe has described food and pharmaceutical regulation in Maharashtra as a massive exercise involving thousands of establishments, manufacturers, pharmacies, laboratories and other businesses, while citizen complaints also have to be investigated.The FDA’s stated mission is “Safe Food, Safe Drug, Safe Maharashtra”, with the commissioner arguing that compliance with food and drug laws should become the norm rather than an exception.The department has identified three key stakeholders: the regulator, which must implement the law without fear or favour; food and drug licensees, who must comply with standards; and citizens, who need to become more discerning consumers.The broader strategy, according to the commissioner, is to combine enforcement with technology, business compliance and public awareness so that food and medicine safety becomes a continuing public-health priority rather than an issue addressed only when violations are detected.
