Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has called for a sustained public movement to improve food safety, saying enforcement alone cannot create lasting change. Speaking at the India Today Conclave Mumbai, the 2005-batch IAS officer said consumers, manufacturers and regulators must work together to make safe food a priority. Since taking charge of the department in May 2026, Mundhe has stepped up action against suspected food adulteration, including milk supply chains, and intensified enforcement against establishments dealing with food and medicines. He maintained that the public attention surrounding his work should focus on food safety and drug quality rather than on him personally.

Mundhe said the media coverage had increased his sense of responsibility and denied receiving calls asking him to slow down his enforcement activities. “Believe me, Rajdeep, [in] this posting, I have not been called once by anybody to go slow on this,” he told session host Rajdeep Sardesai. He also stressed that the issue extended beyond individual inspections and administrative action. According to Mundhe, enforcement would have a lasting impact only when consumers actively demanded safe products and businesses recognised that following safety standards was essential. He said the objective was to establish a system that continued to function regardless of which officer was in charge.

Addressing milk adulteration in Maharashtra, Mundhe outlined a plan to compare the quantities of milk recorded at collection centres with production estimates based on ear-tagged cattle data maintained by animal husbandry authorities. FDA teams had begun inspecting hundreds of milk collection and chilling centres, he said. By matching reported milk volumes with the available livestock and production information, authorities hope to identify discrepancies that could indicate adulteration or unsafe supply. Mundhe argued that tracing products through the supply chain was necessary to make enforcement more effective. He also said food safety could not be separated from food security, describing the latter as meaningless if the food reaching consumers was unsafe.

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The commissioner said the department had also increased its action against businesses involved in the manufacture and sale of medicines. Between June and August 2026, the FDA seized goods worth Rs 11.41 crore, compared with Rs 13.64 crore during the entire previous financial year, according to the figures he presented. Action had been taken against hundreds of manufacturing and sales establishments. Mundhe explained that inspections did not stop at identifying problems at individual pharmacies; authorities were also tracing products backwards through the supply chain. He said medicines often received less public attention than restaurants and food outlets, despite the importance of ensuring their quality and efficacy.

Mundhe also addressed concerns about whether enforcement efforts could continue if he were transferred to another posting. He said institutions mattered more than individual officers, who would eventually move on. “Institutions are of paramount importance. [People] manning those are temporary. People like me will come and go,” he said, emphasising the need for durable systems rather than campaigns dependent on one official. He announced an Eat Right Movement for Maharashtra targeting schools, workplaces and places of worship, alongside everyday practices such as proper refrigerator use. He described the initiative as an effort to encourage citizens to take responsibility for food safety while pushing institutions to strengthen their own practices.

The commissioner urged people to turn their stated support for safer food into action by raising concerns when they encountered unsafe practices. “Raising hand here is very easy, but when it matters, you have to raise your voice on the issue. For your benefit, for my benefit,” he said. Mundhe also defended the department's actions against celebrities over alleged surrogate tobacco promotion, saying it would correct its approach if a court found that it had exceeded its authority and defend its actions where the facts supported them. His central message was that food and drug safety could not depend solely on inspections, notices or the tenure of a particular officer. Lasting progress, he argued, would require consistent enforcement, accountable businesses and citizens willing to demand safer products.

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