Bar on sale of loose oil in force since 2011, Mundhe clarifies

“The chief minister has said that we cannot compromise on adulteration and safety. So, there is no confusion or miscommunication between the FDA and other wings of the government,” Tukaram Mundhe said on Wednesday

Mumbai: Two days after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state government was revoking the ban on sale of loose edible oil and it would direct the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to find a middle path by formulating an SOP to prevent adulteration, FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe on Wednesday told reporters that the bar on sale of loose oil continued to remain in force.

Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe interacts with the media at the Mumbai Press Club (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

“The chief minister has said that we cannot compromise on adulteration and safety. So, there is no confusion or miscommunication between the FDA and other wings of the government. We all are clearly on the same page,” Mundhe said during a meet-the-press event hosted by the Mumbai Press Club.

As reported by HT, on August 20, the FDA issued an order banning the sale of loose edible oil and fat in a bid to curb adulteration and protect public health. The All India Edible Oil Traders Federation condemned the decision and threatened a state-wide protest, prompting the state government to revoke the ban on Monday.

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Monday, Fadnavis had said: “We will direct the FDA to find a middle path by formulating an SOP that ensures the quality of edible oil and prevents adulteration, while also allowing traditional businesses to continue.”

Asked if the FDA would revoke its August 20 order, Mundhe said it could do so only after the state government announced the SOP. He also said that the sale of loose edible oil has been prohibited countrywide since 2011, when the central government issued a directive following multiple deaths due to consumption of adulterated oil.

“The day I issued that compliance order, I made it very, very clear that this is not some new directive that I am issuing. It has existed as part of the Food Safety and Standard Regulations, 2011,” he said. The Maharashtra government did not have any provision to exempt the sale of loose oil and no such exemption was in force, he noted.

Elaborating on how the 2011 ban came into effect, Mundhe said, “Between 2018 and 2021-22, when there was a Central Advisory Committee at the Government of India level, the CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had discussed the matter with food safety commissioners and it was clearly stated that all states must ensure that loose oil is not sold.”

In one of the meetings in 2021 or 2023, a specific reference was made to Maharashtra, wherein arsenic was found in samples of edible oil, Mudhe said, adding, “This is the background against which we are working.”

The FDA had been stressing on banning the sale of loose oil since it is difficult to track the stock due to lack of manufacturing date or batch numbers, he said.

When asked about the concerns of the poor who cannot afford to buy large packets of edible oil, the FDA commissioner said, “Oil could be sold in pouches of 200 ml or less, like hair oil.”

‘Putting systems in place’

The FDA commissioner also allayed fears of discontinuation of the FDA crackdown once he is transferred from the post, saying he was working on putting automations and digitised systems in place to ensure that the action continues beyond his tenure.

“Today, I am able to work because systems have been in place since the 1970s when the FDA was set up. We are improving and putting more systems in place so that the individual (heading the FDA) does not become the most important,” he said.

Mundhe further said that he was putting together an annual festival calendar so the FDA could swing into action before, during and after key festivals around the year.

The FDA commissioner urged people to eat natural food and avoid high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) foods. He said that while the FDA was in the process of putting a formal feedback mechanism in place, the fact that the taste of milk and food colours had changed and

restaurants were voluntarily shutting down to ensure compliance were a testament to the FDA’s interventions.

Mudhe also expressed pride in the fact that restaurants now knew what Food Safety Management Systems (FSSM) compliances stood for.

On being asked about having become a celebrity, he said , “All officers are working and contributing (irrespective of) whether they are getting highlighted or not.”

Offering a glimpse into his personal side, he said that reading and trekking to the Himalayas were his hobbies and no, he did not have any role in his own kitchen.