Maharashtra FDA to launch 'Eat Right' campaign to promote food safety, awareness

Maharashtra FDA to launch 'Eat Right' campaign to promote food safety, awareness

Mumbai, Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration will launch the 'Eat Right' movement to promote food safety, improve eating habits and educate people about the food they consume, its commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said on Saturday.

Maharashtra FDA to launch 'Eat Right' campaign to promote food safety, awareness

The initiative would include programmes such as Eat Right Schools, Eat Right Places and Eat Right Worshipping Places, along with digital campaigns, to encourage people to make informed food choices.

The commissioner said the FDA had inspected around 15,000 to 16,000 establishments, with nearly half of them having major compliance deficiencies.

"Ultimately, it is not about regulation; it is about eating habits, what we eat, what we consume day in and day out, what our children eat and consume. We should know what to eat, how to eat and how much to eat," Mundhe said at the India Today Conclave Mumbai 2026.

He said the food and drug regulator would launch information, education and communication activities over the coming months to help people identify safe and standard food products and understand the importance of proper food handling.

"These activities will take place in the next few months. I want it to be a people's movement, not just a government movement. Do participate, give suggestions, and we will act on them," he added.

Mundhe urged citizens to raise their voices on food safety issues instead of limiting their support to public events, saying sustained public participation was necessary to ensure that enforcement measures continued beyond the tenure of individual officers.

"Raising your hand here is very easy, but when it matters, you have to raise your voice, you have to raise the issue. It may be against me. I am not saying raise your voice against somebody. What I am saying is, raise your voice on the issue, for your benefit and my benefit," he said.

The FDA commissioner asked consumers to question the safety and quality of food served at restaurants and sold in shops, and said the responsibility of ensuring food safety could not rest solely with the regulator.

He said the FDA would provide information to help people understand food labels and make informed decisions.

Responding to a question on the number of ingredients listed on packets of snacks sold in India compared with similar products in other countries, he said the issue is not the number of ingredients but whether manufacturers disclosed them accurately and transparently.

"Having more ingredients does not necessarily mean bad, and having fewer ingredients does not necessarily mean good. What is in the packet has to be authentically put in print, and people must read it and then make a right choice," Mundhe added.

He also referred to misleading advertising claims and said consumers needed to be able to read and understand the information printed on food packages.

Responding to questions about judicial scrutiny of some of the department's actions, he said the FDA took the court's orders seriously and would correct mistakes if officers had erred in procedure, interpretation or implementation.

However, he said the department would use the legal remedies available to it if it believed its position was correct.

The commissioner said the FDA had inspected around 15,000 to 16,000 establishments, with nearly half found to have major compliance deficiencies. Around 600 establishments had their licences suspended, while approximately 5,200 were issued improvement notices.

He cautioned against treating the proportion of non-compliant samples collected during targeted inspections as an indication of the overall prevalence of unsafe food, explaining that officials focused on high-risk establishments and products.

Mundhe also cited drug enforcement figures to highlight the department's action against violations. Between June and August 2026, drug seizures in Maharashtra amounted to ₹11.41 crore, compared with ₹13.64 crore during the entire previous financial year, he said.

Asked whether the enforcement drive would continue after his transfer, Mundhe said lasting change depended on institutionalising systems rather than relying on individual officers.

"Institutions are permanent; persons manning those are temporary. The system has to be built in, stabilised, strengthened and then become part and parcel of the institution," he said.

Mundhe acknowledged that building and stabilising such systems required time, effort and planning, adding that their long-term success would also depend on public support.

On speculation about a possible political career amid growing public attention and a large social media following, Mundhe said politics was not his preferred field.

"Politics is not my cup of tea. I am a public servant. I am trying to perform this role as of today," he said, adding that he preferred to focus on the work before him rather than speculate about the future.

Mundhe said the objective is to improve the system's functioning and make Maharashtra a better place to live.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.