3,000 Raids, Dirty Kitchens Exposed and Major Food Giants Hit: How Maharashtra FDA Chief Tukaram Mundhe is Transforming Eateries
Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has triggered a massive overhaul across the commercial food landscape, conducting over 3,000 surprise inspections and raids since assuming charge in May. The aggressive enforcement drive has targeted roadside stalls, legacy eateries, quick-commerce dark stores, luxury hotels, and international food giants, exposing widespread hygiene violations, severe pest infestations, and expired stock.
The crackdown has not spared global fast-food brands, with the regulator suspending operating permits at 4 Domino's outlets, 1 Pizza Hut, and a McDonald's restaurant following inspections that uncovered live cockroach colonies, rotting food items, and unhygienic preparation environments. Mundhe demonstrated equal rigor toward institutional facilities; when a Mumbai judge questioned whether the FDA was selectively penalizing private enterprises, enforcement teams inspected court canteens within hours and shut down units operating without valid statutory licenses.
Images and inspection reports made public by the FDA have revealed graphic kitchen lapses, including rat and cockroach infestations, peeling paint, open drains, rusted equipment, and expired ingredients. The relentless scrutiny has compelled commercial eateries across Mumbai to swiftly overhaul their sanitary practices:
Street vendors have transitioned from synthetic red dyes to natural chili powder and introduced mandatory gloves and head caps for food handlers.
Snack centers have replaced toxic ink-stained newspaper packaging with food-grade butter paper for Mumbai's staple vada pav following an FDA prohibition.
Restaurants and frying stalls have begun testing and replacing cooking oil multiple times a day to avoid rancidity and lipid breakdown.
The regulatory drive has also expanded into supply-chain integrity, with the FDA enforcing the ban on loose, unpackaged edible oil to curb adulteration and eliminate toxic risks like epidemic dropsy, mandating tamper-evident sealed packaging for retail consumers. While business bodies and restaurant associations have voiced concern over aggressive enforcement and approached the High Court alleging administrative overreach, public support has surged for the no-nonsense bureaucrat who continues to assert that compromising food safety directly endangers citizen lives.