Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, Tukaram Mundhe, the man behind massive crackdown on food irregularities across the state, has been among the newsmakers for the past few weeks. Mundhe’s efforts to fix the quality of what the public consumes have now been acknowledged and appreciated by actor Mallika Sherawat.
What Mallika shared
Mallika took to her Instagram account and shared a video of herself eating idli and chutney. She spoke directly to the camera and said in Marathi that he has truly made a mark because of his work. She went on to add, “Aap ki wajah se ab main shanti se khana kha sakti hu jaante hue ki aap ke jo strict rules hai, aapke jo adarsh hai woh hum sab ko safe rakh rahe hai. Aap ki nazro se kuch bachta nahi (For you now I can eat food without worrying. Because of your strict rules, your values… which are keeping all of us safe. Nothing gets past your sharp eye). Thank you so much.”
The actor’s comments arrive at a time when the FDA under Mundhe has launched a massive crackdown on food businesses, hotels, restaurants and warehouses across Maharashtra. The food regulatory body has already conducted over 3,000 spot checks since May, according to Bloomberg.
Mundhe has suspended food permits of four Pizza Hut outlets and has also targeted cricket clubs, hotels and well-known restaurants. The state FDA has been conducting inspections at restaurants, hotels, roadside eateries and other establishments serving food, including those supplying food through online delivery platforms. Its actions have included licence suspensions and improvement notices in cases involving food safety violations.
Pune division emerged as the worst offender with the highest number of licence suspensions, while inspectors served 948 improvement notices for critical cold-chain and sanitation breaches, they said.
More details
According to the FDA, Pune topped the overall enforcement chart with 4,261 inspections and 168 licence suspensions, followed by Konkan with 3,142 inspections and 108 suspensions, and Greater Mumbai with 1,451 inspections and 121 suspensions.
Among other divisions, Nashik recorded 1,356 inspections and 56 suspensions, followed by Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar with 1,173 inspections and 61 suspensions, Amravati with 989 inspections and 45 suspensions, and Nagpur with 711 inspections and 44 suspensions.
The region-wise figures cover the period from May 25 to August 31. The FDA intensified its crackdown against restaurants, dairies and food manufacturing units after IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe took charge of the agency earlier this year.
(via inputs from PTI)
