Mumbai, Oct 30 The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized 28,753 quintals of edible oil worth Rs 18.95 crore and suspended 80 food business licences during a seven-month drive against adulteration and sale of substandard products, officials said on Friday.
In a statement, the FDA said it conducted 1,089 inspections across the state between April 1 and October 29, covering edible oil manufacturers, repackers, relabellers, wholesalers and retailers.
The compiled action report said 28,753.30 quintals of edible oil, valued at Rs 18.94 crore, were seized during the period. The department also collected 1,660 samples for laboratory testing.
“Of the 1,660 samples collected, reports of 485 have been received so far. As many as 462 samples met the prescribed standards. However, 40 were found substandard, 18 unsafe and five misbranded. Reports of the remaining 1,171 samples are awaited,” the FDA said.
The department suspended 80 food business licences across its seven divisions. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar recorded the highest number of suspensions at 27, followed by Pune with 22. Greater Mumbai accounted for eight suspensions, while Konkan, Nagpur and Nashik recorded six each. Amravati had five licences suspended, the FDA informed.
“Pune recorded the highest quantity of seized edible oil at 19,551.83 quintals, followed by Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar with 5,736.27 quintals and Konkan with 2,146.06 quintals. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar reported the highest value of seized stock at Rs 8.34 crore. Konkan followed with Rs 5.44 crore, while Pune accounted for seizures worth Rs 2.67 crore,” the statement said.
The value of seized oil in Nashik stood at Rs 73.53 lakh. Greater Mumbai accounted for Rs 67.13 lakh, Amravati Rs 56.17 lakh and Nagpur Rs 51.65 lakh.
Konkan recorded the highest number of inspections at 291, followed by Nagpur with 221 and Nashik with 164. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar accounted for 133 inspections, Pune 123, Amravati 100 and Greater Mumbai 57, it said.
“The main reasons for suspending licences included selling oil in reused tins and unlabelled containers, suspected adulteration and unhygienic manufacturing or storage conditions. Other violations included the absence of an in-house laboratory or technical personnel and breaches of labelling rules,” the FDA said.
Establishments with suspended licences cannot carry out food business during the suspension period. They are also barred from selling, moving, transferring or repacking seized stock without prior written permission from the competent authority.
“Strict action will be taken against operators found manufacturing, storing or selling adulterated, substandard or unsafe edible oil,” FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said.
(PTI News)
