Archive · 25 Aug 2026
Maharashtra CM Seeks SOP Instead of Loose Oil Ban
Maharashtra’s food safety agency wanted to stop shops from selling loose cooking oil.
It said oil should instead be sold in sealed and labelled packages.
The packages would also need to be tamper-proof and made for food use.
The agency said the change could help prevent adulteration.
Many edible oil traders disagreed with the order.
They said it could hurt small family businesses.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the decision.
He asked the agency to create clear safety instructions first, rather than immediately enforcing the blanket ban.
Maharashtra’s food safety body announced a blanket ban on selling edible oil and fats loosely.
The order required edible oils and fats to be sold in sealed, tamper-proof, properly labelled, food-grade packaging.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the order on Monday, August 24.
Fadnavis directed the agency to first create a standard operating procedure to curb adulteration.
Edible oil traders opposed the restrictions, saying they could harm generations-old family businesses.
- Who
- Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and edible oil traders.
- What
- The chief minister reviewed a blanket ban on loose edible oil sales and directed the food safety body to frame an SOP first.
- When
- The intervention took place on Monday, August 24, four days after the packaging order.
- Where
- Maharashtra.
- Why
- The agency sought to curb food adulteration, while traders opposed the restrictions because they said the rules could threaten family-run businesses.
Food Safety Regulators
Edible Oil Traders
How to prevent adulteration
Food Safety Regulators
The food safety body sought to require sealed, tamper-proof and properly labelled food-grade packaging, with the chief minister asking it to develop an SOP to curb adulteration.
Edible Oil Traders
Traders opposed the restrictions, arguing that the requirements could threaten family-run edible oil businesses that have operated for generations.
- Regulator
- Maharashtra’s food safety body, identified as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
- Original order
- Edible oil and fats were to be sold only in sealed, tamper-proof, properly labelled, food-grade packaging.
- Chief minister
- Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the FDA order.
- Requested next step
- The agency was directed to frame a standard operating procedure (SOP).
- Stated purpose
- The SOP was intended to help curb adulteration.
- Trader response
- Edible oil traders strongly opposed the restrictions, citing risks to long-running family businesses.