Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration has intensified inspections across the state, carrying out more than 12,000 checks and taking enforcement action since Tukaram Mundhe became the FDA commissioner on May 25, NDTV reported.
The FDA said its officials conducted 12,083 inspections over a 109-day period, issuing 5,269 improvement notices and suspending 603 licences over violations of food safety and regulatory requirements.
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The crackdown also led to the seizure of illegal and tainted food stocks worth Rs 67.2 crore, underscoring the scale of violations detected during inspections across Maharashtra, the report added.
The enforcement drive also resulted in 875 arrests as authorities stepped up action over food safety and regulatory violations.
Inspections of hotels, restaurants and other eateries uncovered several serious violations, including cockroach infestations, raw chicken cross-contamination and breaches of cold-chain requirements.
The department has also intensified action against banned tobacco products.
Following the statewide ban imposed on July 13, officials seized prohibited gutkha and pan masala worth Rs 19.62 crore as part of the ongoing enforcement campaign.
The FDA said the exercise was aimed at strengthening compliance and protecting consumers from unsafe, adulterated and prohibited food products.
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As part of its efforts to improve public participation in food safety enforcement, the department has also launched a multilingual, artificial intelligence-enabled grievance portal.
The platform is designed to help citizens submit food safety complaints and enable officials to route and track them more efficiently.
The latest figures highlight the scale of the FDA's enforcement campaign since Mundhe assumed charge, with inspections, licence suspensions, seizures and arrests forming part of a broader push to tighten food safety oversight across Maharashtra.
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