Maharashtra FDA to Fast-Track Licence Revocations Amid Food Safety Crackdown by Tukaram Mundhe

Responding to a question raised by mid-day.com during a press conference at the FDA headquarters in Bandra, Mumbai, on Wednesday, Mundhe said that while the administration has been rapidly suspending licences of restaurants, hotels, eateries, and other food establishments found violating food safety norms, the process of revoking those suspensions will also be accelerated.

"Of course, we are fast-tracking the revocation process as well," Mundhe said.

Explaining the revised mechanism, Mundhe stated that after a food business licence is suspended, the operator must file an appeal before the FDA Commissioner within 15 days. Earlier, an inspection was ordered only after the hearing, which often resulted in delays. To eliminate this time-consuming process, Mundhe introduced a new system.

"As soon as I receive an appeal, I immediately appoint an officer to re-inspect the establishment concerned and submit a report. This expedites the entire process because by the time the hearing takes place, the inspection report is already on my table. This removes one time-consuming stage," he said.

According to Mundhe, during the hearing, if an establishment is found to have complied with food safety norms and corrected the deficiencies, suspended enterprises are provided a stay order, allowing them to continue operations as usual.

However, he clarified that licences cannot be restored immediately after an appeal is filed.

When asked whether the FDA has sufficient manpower to manage both the increasing number of licence suspensions and the subsequent revocation process, Mundhe said the department is committed to ensuring that cases do not accumulate.

"I will ensure that cases don't pile up and that we provide a proper fast-tracking process for every complaint," he said.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra FDA has announced a one-year ban on the production, processing, storage, transportation, distribution, and sale of analogue (non-dairy) paneer across the state. The order, issued by Mundhe under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, came into immediate effect on Tuesday.

The decision followed a statewide laboratory analysis of paneer samples collected between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026. Out of the 308 samples tested, 109 samples, accounting for 35.4 per cent, failed to meet the prescribed food safety standards.

Among the failed samples, 79 were categorised as substandard, while 30 were declared unsafe for human consumption.

While addressing the media on the ban, Mundhe stated that inspections conducted between May 25 and July 31 resulted in 3,137 inspections of food establishments across Maharashtra. During the enforcement drive, officials issued 764 improvement notices and suspended 165 food business licences.

According to an official statement, the FDA has seized more than 28.66 lakh kg of food products worth around Rs 55.72 crore in the past one month, highlighting the scale of the ongoing food safety enforcement action across the state.