Between August 11 and October 12, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials conducted 4676 inspections across the state, targeting food products that see a spike in demand during festivals. These products are milk, edible oils, ghee, khoya, mawa, sweets, dry fruits, chocolates, and other festive foods that are used in large quantities.

The Maharashtra FDA has launched a massive statewide food safety drive to ensure that citizens bite only into purity, not adulteration, said our report. It was seen that 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.