Archive · 2 Sep 2026
FSSAI Chief Backs Mundhe’s Maharashtra Food Safety Drive
Maharashtra’s food safety department has been checking many businesses for rule violations.
Its commissioner, Tukaram Mundhe, has led the campaign.
Rajit Punhani, the head of India’s food regulator, praised this work.
He said the team acted with the staff it already had.
Punhani also said food safety leadership should not be treated as a punishment job.
He wants every state to have a full-time food safety commissioner.
The campaign has made more people aware of food safety officials.
However, the Bombay High Court said some actions against businesses may have been too severe or too fast.
The court said officials must follow proper legal procedures while enforcing the rules.
FSSAI CEO Rajit Punhani praised Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe’s strict food safety enforcement campaign.
The drive has targeted restaurants, hotels, food businesses, warehouses and other establishments across Maharashtra.
The Maharashtra FDA reported thousands of inspections, while one report cited more than 3,000 spot checks since May.
Punhani said Mundhe achieved the campaign with existing staff and argued every state should have a dedicated food safety commissioner.
The Bombay High Court criticized some FDA actions as disproportionate and hurried, citing concerns about due process.
- Who
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India CEO Rajit Punhani and Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe are central to the story.
- What
- Punhani backed Mundhe’s Maharashtra food safety enforcement campaign and called for dedicated food safety commissioners in every state, amid court criticism of some FDA actions.
- When
- Punhani made the comments in an India Today TV interview; the campaign has taken place in recent months, with more than 3,000 checks reported since May, though the year is not specified.
- Where
- The enforcement campaign is taking place across Maharashtra; related legal criticism came from the Bombay High Court.
- Why
- Punhani said stronger leadership can improve enforcement with existing staff and increase public awareness, while the court stressed proportionality and due process.
Stronger Enforcement
Proportionate Enforcement and Due Process
Effectiveness with existing resources
Stronger Enforcement
Rajit Punhani said Mundhe’s campaign showed that determined leadership can produce results with the same number of food safety officers.
Proportionate Enforcement and Due Process
The Bombay High Court’s criticism indicates that enforcement methods must be assessed not only by their intensity but also by whether they are legally and procedurally sound.
Business closures and licence action
Stronger Enforcement
The central food regulator supported the broader Maharashtra crackdown on establishments suspected of violating food safety rules.
Proportionate Enforcement and Due Process
The Bombay High Court questioned closures and licence suspensions that it viewed as disproportionate, hasty or insufficiently grounded in due process.
Role of food safety departments
Stronger Enforcement
Punhani argued that food safety is an important public function and that every state needs a dedicated commissioner rather than an officer holding the role as an additional charge.
Proportionate Enforcement and Due Process
The articles do not report a direct opposing position on dedicated commissioners, but describe the longstanding administrative tendency to give food safety responsibilities less attention than the health system.
- FSSAI chief
- Rajit Punhani
- State official
- Tukaram Mundhe, Maharashtra FDA Commissioner
- Reported inspections
- More than 3,000 spot checks since May, according to one report; other reports describe thousands of inspections.
- Staffing
- Punhani said the campaign was conducted without recruiting additional food safety officers.
- Dedicated leadership
- Punhani said every state should have a separate, full-time food safety commissioner.
- Court criticism
- The Bombay High Court questioned allegedly disproportionate action, undue haste and adherence to due process.
- Additional action
- The Maharashtra FDA suspended the food permits of four Pizza Hut outlets, according to one report.
