Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has pointed to unhealthy eating habits and widespread food adulteration as key drivers behind rising cases of heart attacks and cancer even among people with no history of addiction.
He also cited an example from Nagpur's popular "saoji" cuisine to illustrate the risks.
Speaking about the issue, Mundhe recounted an account of a person whose husband, despite never consuming tobacco, alcohol or even tea, suffered a heart attack and was later diagnosed with cancer.
"There's no addiction, and yet he had a heart attack. He got cancer," he said, adding that in such cases doctors often cite no clear reason, when the real cause lies in what people eat and how they live.
Mundhe said that while he was generally aware of food adulteration before taking charge, the scale of the problem became far clearer to him after assuming office as FDA Commissioner.
He said there was virtually no food item, from milk to vada, bajra to cooking oil, that was free of adulteration.
He also flagged the popular preference among consumers for heavily spiced, oily food at restaurants and dhabas, using Nagpur's famous "tarri-tarra" mutton and saoji chicken as an example of dishes that, if consumed regularly, can severely damage health.
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"Nagpur's saoji chicken can put people like me in hospital within a month," he said, describing the dish as emblematic of food that is excessively oily, fatty, salty and sugary, a combination he said inevitably takes a toll on the heart over time.
Mundhe noted that such unhealthy eating patterns had also risen sharply among students, prompting the state government to issue directives in 2020 aimed at addressing the trend.
Mundhe, a 2005-batch IAS officer, assumed charge as Maharashtra FDA Commissioner on 25 May 2026 and has since led one of the state's most aggressive enforcement drives against food adulteration.
Under his leadership, the FDA has carried out several raids targeting adulterated milk, paneer, edible oil and banned tobacco products, alongside action against restaurants, dairies and blood banks for regulatory violations, resulting in multiple licence suspensions and criminal cases against offenders.
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