The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized 3,098.46 tonnes of food stock worth Rs 63.45 crore and suspended 954 food licences during a statewide enforcement drive in the past two months, officials said on Thursday.
The festive drive was run between September 1 and November 3 under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the agency said in a statement.
The FDA inspected 9,667 food establishments across Maharashtra during the period and issued 4,603 improvement notices. It initiated proceedings to cancel 25 licences or registrations and collected 8,835 food samples for testing.
A total of 3,098.46 tonnes of food stock, valued at Rs 63.45 crore, was seized, it said.
As part of the festive action, the FDA inspected 3,332 establishments, issued 1,501 improvement notices and suspended 326 licences or registrations between October 15 and November 3 under a special Diwali drive. It initiated cancellation proceedings against 15 licences or registrations and collected 3,864 food samples.
The agency seized 1,886.44 metric tonnes of food stock worth Rs 44.37 crore during the Diwali-specific drive, the statement said.
A commodity-wise analysis of the seizures during the broader two-month-long festive-period drive showed that edible oils accounted for 925.11 tonnes of seized stock worth Rs 16.31 crore, while salt, spices and condiments accounted for 895.32 tonnes valued at Rs 21.09 crore.
The FDA also seized 171.57 tonnes of milk products, including ghee and “khava” (milk solids), worth Rs 7.63 crore, and 156.66 tonnes of dry fruits valued at Rs 7.47 crore, it said.
Other seized items included 59.78 tonnes of sweets worth Rs 1.36 crore, 48 tonnes of namkeen and snacks valued at Rs 1.18 crore, besides 12.26 tonnes of milk worth Rs 10 lakh and 6.10 tonnes of bakery products valued at Rs 19 lakh.
The division-wise figures showed that the Konkan division recorded seizures of 722.51 tonnes worth Rs 21.17 crore, while Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division reported 800.88 tonnes worth Rs 12.37 crore.
The FDA conducted inspections across the food supply chain, covering manufacturing units, storage facilities, transporters, retail outlets, hotels, restaurants, caterers, online platforms and quick-commerce warehouses during the festive drive, the statement said.
The enforcement drive also focused on dairy products transported from other states, packaged food and gift hampers, it added.
