Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe's crackdown on food safety has made him one of the most recognisable faces in India's bureaucracy. But the episode that brought his approach into sharp focus began with something far more ordinary: a dinner invitation from a friend.
Speaking to NDTV Profit, Mundhe recalled that soon after taking charge, a friend invited him for dinner at a restaurant. Mundhe initially hesitated, joking that his new role as food safety commissioner meant he would naturally be looking around for compliance violations.
"I have this habit of wherever I go, I just look around," he said.
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At the restaurant, Mundhe noticed that the mandatory food licence was not displayed prominently. He also questioned the restaurant about its drinking-water arrangements.
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Things took a sharper turn when his Jain friend ordered paneer.
"I said don't order paneer. Definitely not going to pass the test of my eye," Mundhe recalled.
When the dish arrived, he examined it and questioned whether it was genuine paneer or an analogue product.
"I again asked, is it really real paneer? As soon as it came, he said, 'Give it to me.' I just checked it. It was definitely not real paneer," Mundhe said.
He asked his friend not to eat it and pointed out several compliance issues to the restaurant management. Mundhe said he did not immediately order punitive action, instead giving the establishment 24 hours to rectify the violations.
"After 24 hours I asked my officers to go and check. So they had very well 24 hours to comply with that. And of course checking took place and rest is history," he said.
Mundhe has faced criticism over the FDA's tough action against restaurants, including questions over whether immediate licence suspensions are proportionate. Defending the approach, he cited Section 32 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which allows a designated officer to suspend a licence forthwith where food poses a likely health hazard.
He said that in the last two months, more than 3,100 inspections were conducted, with around 165 licences suspended and more than 750 establishments receiving improvement notices.
"If it doesn't sound proportionate, I don't know what the definition of proportion would be," Mundhe said.
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He also rejected the idea that his actions were about personal popularity.
"It's not about me. It's about food sector. It's about food safety. It's about food standards," he said, adding that the growing public discussion around food safety was a positive development.
Mundhe said his ultimate objective was compliance rather than punishment. "I would be the happiest person that FDA did not need to go anywhere and FDA is closed. If that can happen, nothing like it," he said.
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