Nagpur: The Maharashtra govt on Friday warned of strict action against vendors selling unhealthy food products and caffeine-based energy drinks near schools, amid growing concerns over their adverse health impact on children and teenagers.Replying to a question raised by MLA Vikram Pachpute in the Assembly regarding the ill effects of energy drinks, food and drug administration minister Narhari Zirwal said authorities were instructed to closely monitor the sale of food items considered harmful to students’ health around school premises.Zirwal said parents, teachers, headmasters and zilla parishads were asked to report instances of sale of caffeine-rich beverages and unhealthy food products to the FDA so that action could be initiated under existing laws.The issue was discussed extensively after concerns were raised over the consumption of branded energy drinks and similar products among school students. MLAs Rahul Kul and Varun Sardesai also participated in the discussion through supplementary questions.The minister said the state was simultaneously strengthening its food-testing infrastructure to accelerate scrutiny of food and beverage samples. At present, Maharashtra has three operational food and drug testing laboratories in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nagpur and Mumbai. New laboratories are now being set up in Raigad, Nashik, Yavatmal and Pune, while another 22 laboratories will be established under the public-private partnership model.“Expansion of laboratory infrastructure will help speed up the process of testing food samples and improve regulatory monitoring,” Zirwal further added.Sharing data on inspections and testing, the minister said 27 samples of a branded energy drink were collected for analysis between April 2025 and May 2026, out of which 10 samples were found compliant with prescribed standards.Additionally, he informed that between April 2025 and March 2026, authorities collected around 115 samples of various energy drinks for laboratory analysis. Of these, 63 samples were declared standard quality, one sample was classified as substandard while six samples were found to be misbranded. Examination of the remaining samples is still underway.
