The Maharashtra FDA festival SOP is intended to prevent food adulteration and protect public health, not regulate religious or cultural celebrations, Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said on September 6, 2026. The clarification followed concerns about the department’s recent directive covering food safety arrangements at festivals and large public gatherings.
Mumbai | September 6, 2026
Mundhe said the order requires food served at festivals, weddings, bhandaras, Eid gatherings, Christmas events, New Year celebrations and other public occasions to comply with food-safety laws already in force. He said the directive does not regulate how festivals are conducted or introduce restrictions on religious rituals and cultural traditions.
“There appears to be some misunderstanding and apprehension regarding the standing order issued for food-safety arrangements during festivals and large public gatherings,” Mundhe said, according to PTI. “We are not regulating festivals; we are ensuring that food served at festivals—just as in weddings, bhandaras, Eid, Christmas, New Year’s Eve events and other gatherings—is safe and compliant with a law that has existed since 2011.”
The Maharashtra FDA recently introduced a year-round Festival Enforcement Calendar to create a common framework for food-safety checks during festivals and large gatherings. Previously, directions were often issued separately before individual festivals. The new framework is intended to help FDA officials, food vendors, caterers, food business operators and event organisers understand their responsibilities, Mundhe said.
According to the commissioner, the calendar is designed to reduce ambiguity, prevent arbitrary interpretation and ensure that existing food-safety requirements are applied consistently throughout the year. The directive covers food served during public gatherings rather than the organisation, religious character or cultural practices associated with those events.
Mundhe also clarified that the order does not create a new law, licensing regime or set of legal requirements specifically for festivals. The registration and licensing framework for food business operators has been in place since 2011, he said. The latest order is intended to organise implementation of that existing framework across different types of gatherings.
The commissioner said the directive does not ban bhandaras, prasad or community food distribution, and does not prevent residents from organising Ganapati or other religious festivals. He described the standard operating procedure as religion-neutral and festival-neutral, saying it applies equally to all communities, festivals and food-service activities.
“No religious or cultural activity is being prohibited by this order,” Mundhe said, according to PTI. He added that the purpose was to ensure that food served during festivities is safe and compliant with the existing food-safety framework.
The clarification places responsibility for compliance on the food-safety system and the operators serving food at gatherings, while leaving the conduct of celebrations unchanged. The FDA’s year-round calendar will now serve as the common framework for enforcement during festivals and other large public events in Maharashtra.
