10 September,2026 08:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Anushree Gaikwad
Twenty-two to 25 thousand people per day come to enjoy the prasad, and food is prepared around the clock for this many people. Pic/ @gsbrammandirwadala
Mumbai's GSB Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal in Wadala is expecting thousands of devotees to partake in its traditional Mahaprasad during the 12-day Ganeshotsav 2026 celebrations. With the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanding its festival food-safety checks to community feasts, bhandaras and Mahaprasads, the mandal says it is continuing with its established hygiene and food-safety protocols.
Speaking exclusively to mid-day.com on Thursday, GSB Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal chairman Anant Pai said the mandal brings specialised cooks from Karnataka every year to prepare the community feast.
"As the GSB Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Wadala celebration is 12 days this year. Every year we bring specialised acharyas (cooks) from Karnataka. They come here on our request to cook for the community feast that goes on for 12 days, and our volunteers serve food to the devotees who come for the Mahaprasadam," Pai said.
"For years, we have been cooking food as per the FDA laws, be it hygiene or food quality," he added.
The Maharashtra FDA has introduced a 'Festival Enforcement Calendar' to strengthen food-safety checks around festivals and religious occasions. The initiative also brings community feeding events such as Mahaprasads, bhandaras, langars and annachhatras under greater food-safety scrutiny.
Asked whether the GSB mandal would provide food samples to the FDA if officials conduct inspections, Pai said the mandal would cooperate.
"If FDA ever wants to take our cooking samples or food samples, we will definitely follow the rules and give our samples to the FDA whenever it is required. It's not an issue at all," Pai said.
Pai said the mandal has followed a set food preparation system for years, while making changes whenever required because of new regulations or improvements in processes.
"GSB Ganeshotsav's pattern has been very traditional and so defined. We don't compromise on anything ever. On the improvement part, we keep making a lot of additions and changing a few processes as new laws come, if need be. Otherwise, all the protocols are set all the time and tested for ages now, and we are happy with that. We continue using the same protocol," he said.
"We fully respect and support regulations that are introduced in the larger interest of the public. Every effort is made to adopt and implement such mandates in the right spirit and with good intent. The food is served to devotees by volunteers at the mandal. These volunteers are highly educated and accomplished professionals who selflessly dedicate their time to serving food to thousands of devotees. Many doctors and engineers come as volunteers to serve the Ganpati and work for our mandal during Ganeshotsav," Pai added.
The Mahaprasad menu at GSB Wadala remains largely traditional, with South Indian dishes forming the mainstay of the community feast.
"GSB's menu is very traditional and simple. There will be typical South Indian food. We have dal rice and rasam, two types of vegetable sabji. That menu is the same, but the vegetables used may be changed depending upon the days. The same vegetables will not be served all days. We will have variations for that matter," Pai said.
The breakfast menu includes South Indian favourites such as idli, vada, sambar, chutney and dosa, which are served to devotees visiting the pandal.
The scale of the Mahaprasad operation is significant. Pai said around 22,000 to 25,000 devotees eat at the mandal every day during the celebrations.
The mandal prepares food around the clock for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with around 60 to 70 cooks involved in preparing the large community feast.
"Twenty-two to 25 thousand people per day come to eat our prasad, and we prepare food around the clock for these many people. We prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner, which requires 60-70 cooks to prepare such a big community feast. All our cooks follow the food safety norms," Pai said.
The food is then served to devotees by volunteers at the mandal.
While the Mahaprasad menu features a range of traditional South Indian preparations, Pai said Payasam and Kesarbhaat remain among the community's favourites.
"Payasam and Kesarbhaat are some of the sweet dishes people like and prefer, and they are our community's speciality," he said.
Another popular preparation is Alu Watti (a dish made from Colocasia leaves) and Mooga Ghashi (sprouted mung bean/green gram, coconut-based gravy).
"As far as sabzi is concerned, Alu Watti, a dish made from Colocasia leaves, is something people love to eat at our pandal. It's not a simple sabzi; it takes a lot of time and effort to prepare. That's why we don't prepare it every day. We only make it twice or thrice during the days of Ganeshotsav," Pai said.
The GSB Wadala preparations come at a time when the Maharashtra FDA has expanded its focus on food safety during festivals. Its 'Festival Enforcement Calendar' identifies high-risk food products, possible adulterants and the types of samples that can be collected during different festivals and religious occasions.
The FDA has also widened its focus beyond commercial food establishments to include community feeding events such as Mahaprasads and bhandaras.
The move comes amid increased scrutiny of food safety practices in religious and community food establishments. On September 8, the FDA suspended the licences of three food establishments operating at the ISKCON premises in Juhu after inspections reportedly found serious violations of food safety and hygiene requirements.
The action has highlighted the importance of food-safety compliance at establishments and large-scale food-serving operations catering to devotees.
For GSB Wadala, which serves tens of thousands of devotees every day during Ganeshotsav, the mandal says its traditional food preparation protocols remain in place, while it is prepared to cooperate with the FDA and make changes wherever required.
