Inking your vada pav? FDA cracks down on Mumbai's newspaper-wrapped snacks, collects Rs 1.51-lakh fines

Updated On: 16 June, 2026 08:18 PM IST | Mumbai | Abhitash Singh

Mumbai's Food and Drug Administration found 26 eateries using newspapers to wrap or serve food during an 11-day citywide inspection drive. Seventeen cases have been settled with fines totalling Rs 1.51 lakh, while action against the remaining violators is underway

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While Mumbaikars love the convenience of roadside snacking, the FDA warns that the ink used to print your daily news contains a cocktail of lethal chemicals, harmful dyes, lead, and heavy metals.

That piping hot vada pav or crispy samosa you grabbed from your local street vendor on the way to work might be packing a toxic punch. In a massive crackdown on a ubiquitous Mumbai habit, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has gone after food vendors using newspapers to wrap or serve eatables.

In an intensive 11-day special drive conducted across Mumbai from June 5 to June 16, the FDA inspected 55 food establishments. A staggering 26 eateries nearly 50 per cent of those inspected were caught red-handed using newspapers in direct contact with food.