FDA seizes sub-standard edible oil worth Rs 1.94 crore in Beed, licences of 5 establishments suspended

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted raids in Beed district, seizing sub-standard edible oil worth Rs. 1.94 crore. The inspections, part of the "Safe Food, Safe Maharashtra" campaign, took place on August 6 and 7. Five establishments were suspended from operating due to food safety violations.

During the raids, FDA officials targeted Swagat Oil Industries, where they discovered misleading packaging of soybean oil as both 'refined' and 'ultra refined'. The facility used reused tins and lacked an in-house laboratory, COA, food-grade certificates, and qualified technical staff. FDA seized 66,652.6 kg of edible oil worth Rs. 1.05 crore. The establishment's license was revoked immediately, and the unit shut down.

Charkha Oil Mill was also targeted for misleading packaging of palmolein oil and the reuse of tins. FDA seized 45,995.7 kg of oil valued at Rs 78.22 lakh. On August 7, Jai Hanuman Traders, Janhavi Commercials, and Vinayak Oil Industries had their licenses suspended for various infractions, including unsafe storage and lack of proper records.

In total, FDA collected 1.19 lakh kg of edible oil valued at Rs 1.94 crore from these five establishments. The agency urged citizens to buy edible oil only from licensed vendors and to verify FSSAI licence numbers, manufacturing and expiry dates, batch details, and labeling before purchasing packaged oil.