The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has intensified its crackdown on adulterated and banned food products across the state. In a recent operation, the FDA sealed 86 pan masala and gutka shops, seizing goods valued at over Rs 34 lakh. Additionally, authorities confiscated 90,639 kg of adulterated and banned food items worth approximately Rs 1.24 crore from various establishments.
Seizures in Mumbai
In Mumbai alone, the FDA seized 2,047.4 kg of food stock valued at Rs 3,19,028 from six establishments. Furthermore, 22 gutka shops were sealed in the city, with goods worth Rs 1,23,951 confiscated. The operation focused on products suspected to be of low quality, manufactured under unhygienic conditions, and sold with misleading packaging.
Types of Confiscated Items
The confiscated items across Maharashtra included a variety of food products such as mangoes, boondi ladoos, khoya, and dairy products like milk, ghee, ice cream, kulfi, and frozen desserts. Bakery products like candies, jaggery, peanut chikki, and dates were also seized. Food samples from the seized lot have been sent to laboratories for further analysis to determine their safety and quality.
Districts Covered
The inspection drive spanned multiple districts across Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Nashik, Jalgaon, Raigad, Dhule, Jalna, Beed, Nanded, Parbhani, Solapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Hingoli, Bhandara, Wardha, Yavatmal, Amravati, Akola, and Washim. This widespread operation underscores the FDA's commitment to ensuring food safety and curbing the sale of adulterated products.
The FDA has urged citizens to remain vigilant and report any suspicious food products to the authorities. Further actions will be taken based on the laboratory results of the seized samples.
