Maharashtra FDA’s Festival‑Season Food Crackdown: 2.8 tonnes Seized

When the festive buzz hit Maharashtra, the Food and Drug Administration rolled up its sleeves and went on a thorough hunt for unsafe food. What they uncovered was a surprising amount of dairy‑based indulgence hidden in trucks, shop shelves and even restaurant back‑rooms.

In the Konkan belt alone, officers stopped two trucks loaded with a combined 2.5 tonnes of khowa (also called mawa). One vehicle at Kashimira, Mira Road, was packed with 479 kg of khowa and 958 kg of sweet‑flavoured mawa – worth roughly ₹3.16 lakh. The goods were tucked away without any temperature control, a clear red flag for hygiene.

Another convoy carried 659 kg of khowa and 220 kg of sweet mawa, valued at about ₹2.70 lakh. The FDA declared the entire lot unfit for sale, citing sub‑standard quality and the lack of proper packaging.

Further north, at the Charoti toll in Palghar, a consignment of 174 kg of sweet mawa was seized. Not only was it mis‑branded, but tests also showed it didn’t meet the required standards – the haul was tagged at ₹48,720.

The crackdown didn’t stop at the highways. In Satara’s Karad town, inspectors nabbed 126 kg of milk‑based sweets worth ₹63,000 after spotting unhygienic preparation methods. Over in Kolhapur, 99 kg of khowa and 98 kg of rabdi – together worth around ₹40,430 – were confiscated for licensing and labeling violations.

Beyond dairy, the regulator snatched up 2,580 kg of assorted snacks, including supari and namkeen, plus 12.5 litres of toddy, adding up to a value of ₹4.67 lakh. These items, too, were flagged for non‑compliance.

A separate operation in Nagpur targeted the ever‑present problem of gutkha and pan masala. Officials seized products worth ₹4.11 lakh and impounded two vehicles, leading to three FIRs and three arrests.

Meanwhile, Mumbai’s bustling food scene felt the heat. The FDA inspected 27 hotels and restaurants; licences of 14 were suspended outright, while the remaining 13 received stern improvement notices. Inspectors pointed out pest infestations, poor food‑handling practices, missing water‑testing reports and a general lack of staff training.

All told, the statewide raid netted 2,813 kg of milk products worth roughly ₹7.38 lakh. The agency says the sweeps are part of an ongoing push to enforce food‑safety, hygiene, licensing and labeling norms, especially as consumers indulge during the festive period.