GSB Ganpati Mahaprasad: 25,000 devotees served daily, mandal ready for Maharashtra FDA checks

Mumbairsquos GSB Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal in Wadala is expecting thousands of devotees to partake in its traditional Mahaprasad during the 12day Ganeshotsav 2026 celebrations With the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration FDA expanding its festival foodsafety checks to community feasts bhandaras and Mahaprasads the mandal says it is continuing with its established hygiene and foodsafety protocolsSpeaking exclusively to middaycom on Thursday GSB Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal chairman Anant Pai said the mandal brings specialised cooks from Karnataka every year to prepare the community feastldquoAs 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 Mahaprasadamrdquo Pai saidldquoFor years we have been cooking food as per the FDA laws be it hygiene or food qualityrdquo he addedGSB Wadala ready to cooperate with FDAThe Maharashtra FDA has introduced a Festival Enforcement Calendar to strengthen foodsafety checks around festivals and religious occasions The initiative also brings community feeding events such as Mahaprasads bhandaras langars and annachhatras under greater foodsafety scrutinyAsked whether the GSB mandal would provide food samples to the FDA if officials conduct inspections Pai said the mandal would cooperateldquoIf 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 Itrsquos not an issue at allrdquo Pai saidPai said the mandal has followed a set food preparation system for years while making changes whenever required because of new regulations or improvements in processesldquoGSB Ganeshotsavrsquos pattern has been very traditional and so defined We donrsquot 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 protocolrdquo he saidldquoWe 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 Ganeshotsavldquo Pai addedGSB Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal Ganpati Pic gsbrammandirwadalaWhat is on GSB Wadalarsquos Mahaprasad menuThe Mahaprasad menu at GSB Wadala remains largely traditional with South Indian dishes forming the mainstay of the community feastldquoGSBrsquos 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 matterrdquo Pai saidThe breakfast menu includes South Indian favourites such as idli vada sambar chutney and dosa which are served to devotees visiting the pandal2200025000 devotees served Mahaprasad dailyThe scale of the Mahaprasad operation is significant Pai said around 22000 to 25000 devotees eat at the mandal every day during the celebrationsThe mandal prepares food around the clock for breakfast lunch and dinner with around 60 to 70 cooks involved in preparing the large community feastldquoTwentytwo 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 6070 cooks to prepare such a big community feast All our cooks follow the food safety normsrdquo Pai saidThe food is then served to devotees by volunteers at the mandalPayasam Alu Watti Mooga Ghashi among Mahaprasad favouritesWhile the Mahaprasad menu features a range of traditional South Indian preparations Pai said Payasam and Kesarbhaat remain among the communitys favouritesPayasam and Kesarbhaat are some of the sweet dishes people like and prefer and they are our communitys speciality he saidAnother popular preparation is Alu Watti a dish made from Colocasia leaves and Mooga Ghashi sprouted mung beangreen gram coconutbased gravyAs far as sabzi is concerned Alu Watti a dish made from Colocasia leaves is something people love to eat at our pandal Its not a simple sabzi it takes a lot of time and effort to prepare Thats why we dont prepare it every day We only make it twice or thrice during the days of Ganeshotsav Pai saidFDA steps up checks on festival foodThe 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 highrisk food products possible adulterants and the types of samples that can be collected during different festivals and religious occasionsThe FDA has also widened its focus beyond commercial food establishments to include community feeding events such as Mahaprasads and bhandarasThe 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 requirementsThe action has highlighted the importance of foodsafety compliance at establishments and largescale foodserving operations catering to devoteesFor 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