The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seized 74,612 kg of edible oil worth Rs 1.29 crore during inspections at 25 establishments across Pune, Sangli, Solapur, Satara and Kolhapur districts. The special enforcement drive was conducted on October 9 to ensure the availability of safe and good-quality edible oil during the festive season.
According to an FDA, the seized stock included soybean, palmolein, groundnut, rice bran, sunflower, mustard, cottonseed and safflower oils suspected of being substandard, unsafe or incorrectly labelled. Officials said samples would be sent to laboratories for analysis, with further legal action to follow based on the reports.
Pune district recorded the highest seizure, with 34,481 kg of oil valued at approximately Rs 58.90 lakh confiscated from eight establishments. These included Sameer Enterprises in Baramati, Laxmi Enterprises in Junnar and Sant Tukaram Oil Mill in Dehu.
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Reported violations included suspected quality deficiencies, reused packaging tins, defective labelling, non-functional laboratories and missing stock registers and batch-wise analysis records.
In Sangli, 2,536 kg of oil worth approximately Rs 4.07 lakh was seized from four establishments. Authorities reported labelling irregularities, inadequate testing facilities and incomplete purchase and production records. Rajaram Annappa Phalle in Ishwarpur was directed to stop business operations.
Solapur accounted for 13,490 kg of seized oil valued at approximately Rs 25.33 lakh across five establishments. Officials flagged suspected quality issues, incorrect labelling, improperly declared batch numbers and maximum retail prices, and the absence of functional in-house laboratories.
In Satara, four establishments were found with 5,948 kg of oil worth approximately Rs 11.41 lakh. Reported violations included the reuse of tins for repackaging, incomplete laboratory testing and conducting business without a valid licence.
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Kolhapur recorded seizures of 18,156 kg valued at approximately Rs 29.03 lakh from four establishments. Officials cited suspected unsafe oil, common inlets to storage tanks, missing purchase bills and inadequate laboratory facilities.
Across the five districts, recurring concerns included suspected substandard quality, absent or non-functional laboratories, a lack of qualified chemists, packaging and labelling violations, licensing deficiencies and incomplete business records. The FDA said the alleged violations included breaches of Sections 23, 26, 27 and 31, along with Schedule IV of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
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FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe warned that stringent action would be taken against food businesses failing to comply with safety requirements. The FDA said further action would depend on laboratory findings and the outcome of its investigation.
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