Food safety chief Tukaram Mundhe’s plan for festivals in Maharashtra

In India, an unprecedented push for food safety has led to street-food stalls being forced to suspend operations and branded restaurants shuttered. The country's packaged food industry, valued at over US$100 billion, is under scrutiny due to inadequate hygiene and food adulteration scandals. Regulators have tested over 100,000 samples annually, with approximately one in five found unsafe or lacking proper labels, leading to the cancellation of nearly 8,000 food business licenses in the past three years.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and state regulators have intensified checks, releasing public updates, including photos and videos of raids, which have garnered significant online attention. One recent video showed inspectors seizing 1,300 kg of adulterated cottage cheese in Uttar Pradesh. Prominent food safety official Tukaram Mundhe, Maharashtra's food commissioner, has garnered celebrity status through his surprise raids on outlets like Domino's, Pizza Hut, and McDonald's in Mumbai.

The most recent high-profile operation saw his team raiding a warehouse where expired dates and nutritional information were faked on labels of food products manufactured by PepsiCo, Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Unilever for export, prompting Canada to assess potential risks to imports. India has debated front-of-pack warning labels to flag high content of sugar, salt, and fat, but opposition from the food industry has stalled the measure.

Recently, FSSAI proposed a red hexagonal stamp on labels for food products high in any two or more nutrients, sparking criticism from both industry executives and health advocates over the thresholds being too strict or too lenient. The proposal will be reviewed by India's Supreme Court on September 10.