03 September,2026 06:30 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said the department was maintaining continuous surveillance to protect public health. FILE PIC
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sharply stepped up its crackdown on substandard food, drugs, and cosmetics, testing more than 32,600 samples between June and August. Over 15,000 food samples were found to be not of standard quality, even as the department significantly increased its monthly testing compared with 2025-26.
The FDA took up 37,604 samples for testing during the three months, including 34,584 food samples and 3,020 drug and cosmetic samples. Of these, 30,492 food samples and 2,112 drug and cosmetic samples were tested.
The increase was particularly sharp compared with the previous financial year. The FDA said average monthly collection of food samples rose by 340 per cent, while the volume of food samples tested jumped by 435 per cent. For drugs and cosmetics, average monthly collection increased by 175 per cent, while testing rose by 165 per cent.
In practical terms, the FDA collected an average of 12,534 samples a month between June and August and tested 10,868 samples a month. In 2025-26, its monthly averages were 3,967 samples collected and 2,760 tested.
The intensified testing has also uncovered a substantial number of food samples that did not meet prescribed standards.
Of the 30,492 food samples tested, 15,332 were found to meet the required quality standards, while 15,160 were declared not of standard quality (NSQ). Of the NSQ food samples, 15,055 were enforcement samples and 105 were surveillance samples.
Among the drug and cosmetic samples tested, 2,004 met the required standards, while 108 were found to be non-compliant. These included eight spurious samples, 93 NSQ samples and seven misbranded products.
The FDA has initiated legal action against the manufacturers and distributors concerned under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and its rules and regulations, as well as the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.
The increased testing is part of the FDA's wider regulatory drive to keep unsafe and substandard products off the market. The department said it is also conducting risk-based inspections of manufacturers and distributors, market surveillance, complaint investigations, and enforcement action under its Safe Food, Safe Drug, Safe Maharashtra campaign.
Maharashtra has three drug-testing laboratories and three food-testing laboratories in Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Nagpur. Food samples are also sent to the State Public Health Laboratory in Pune. The FDA said all its food-testing laboratories are accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
For comparison, the FDA collected 47,600 food, drug and cosmetic samples for testing during the entire 2025-26 financial year, of which 33,119 were tested.
FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said the department was maintaining continuous surveillance to protect public health.
"Along with sample testing, the Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra State, is continuously monitoring risk-based inspections of manufacturers and distributors, market surveillance, enforcement, complaint inquiries, and necessary criminal action to protect citizens' health. Strict legal action will be taken against those involved in manufacturing and distribution systems if substandard, fake, adulterated, or illegal products pose a threat to public health," Mundhe said.
