The Food and Drug Administration has seized 9,359 kg of food products valued at approximately Rs 34.17 lakh across Pune division during a special inspection drive ahead of Diwali, while suspending the food business licences of 12 establishments. The action covered Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur.
The inspections focused on sweets, laddus, burfi, mawa, ghee, cashews and other dairy products being sold during the festival shopping period. The FDA inspected 25 establishments and found issues including substandard food, unhygienic conditions, improper storage and violations of food safety rules, according to a report by Lokmat – Pune.
Of the seized stock, 683 kg of food products was destroyed at the premises. The destroyed material was valued at approximately Rs 1.59 lakh. The FDA also took action to suspend licences and halt operations at establishments where the inspection identified food safety violations.
In Pune’s Ganesh Peth area, officials seized 343 kg of ghee from New Gayatri Traders and 1,796 kg of cow and desi ghee from Kundan Dairy Distributors. At New Gayatri Traders, ghee was allegedly being packed in unhygienic conditions even though the required business category was not recorded on the establishment’s licence. The establishment’s food business licence was suspended.
The drive also covered sweet shops and dairy businesses in several parts of Pune district. Officials seized 473 kg of motichoor laddus and boondi from Jai Ganesh Ladduwala in Wanowrie, 38 kg of motichoor laddus and boondi from Manwar Sweets in Baner, and 27 kg of sweets from Uttam Sweets in Erandwane.
At Dwarka Sweets in Dehugaon, 30 kg of mawa was destroyed and the establishment’s licence was suspended. Balaji Dryfruits in Talegaon Dhamdhere was found with 333.5 kg of food products, of which 25.5 kg was destroyed. Officials also seized 268 kg of burfi from Bikaner Mithaiwale in Mohammadwadi and more than 132 kg of food products from Annapurna Sweets in Kothrud.
New Quality Dairy Farm in Shivajinagar gaothan was among the other establishments where stocks of milk, curd, paneer, cream and ghee were seized. The action illustrates the role of routine food-safety enforcement in managing seasonal risks in a dense urban food market, where large volumes of sweets and dairy products move through retailers within a short period.
The FDA’s Pune division has not stated in the supplied report whether the seized products will be tested further or whether additional penalties will follow. The immediate actions reported are the destruction of identified food stocks, suspension of licences and stoppage of business activity at establishments found violating food safety requirements.
