As the festive season fills markets with colourful sweets and tempting snacks, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a massive statewide food safety drive to ensure that citizens bite only into purity, not adulteration.

Between August 11 and October 12, FDA officials conducted 4676 inspections across the state, targeting food products that see a spike in demand during festivals — milk, edible oils, ghee, khoya — mawa, sweets, dry fruits, chocolates, bhagar, and other festive essentials. The results are eye-opening as 918 samples met the standard, while 51 were substandard, 16 unsafe, and eight misbranded for misleading labels. In all, the FDA seized over 8,03,942 kg of suspicious food stock, initiating further legal action against violators.