The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration seized 4,002 kg of sweets and sweet halwa valued at approximately Rs 11.11 lakh from a luxury bus in Mumbai’s Chembur area after finding the consignment being transported in unhygienic conditions without temperature control, officials said. The action came ahead of the Diwali festive season during a special statewide inspection drive conducted between November 1 and 3.
The FDA’s Food Safety Department Zone 7 intercepted the bus, operated by Tania Travels and bearing registration number AR 01 S 6030, on the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road near Tilak Nagar Police Station. The operation was conducted jointly with the police.
Officials said the food items were being transported without controlled temperature conditions and in circumstances that could pose health risks. The seized stock included 2,098 kg of Gopal Sweet Barfi, 598 kg of Nandi Indian Dessert, 538 kg of Shree Bansidhar Sweet Halwa, 448 kg of Shree Gokul Traditional Sweets, 268 kg of Nandi Indian Sweet Halwa and 52 kg of Shree Gokul Halwa.
The department collected six formal samples from the consignment and sent them for laboratory analysis. The FDA said further action would be taken under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, after the laboratory reports are received. The seizure therefore remains an enforcement action pending the results of the testing.
The Mumbai operation was part of a wider inspection drive covering establishments involved in the manufacture, storage and sale of sweets, khawa, farsan, edible oil and other food products across Maharashtra. The inspections were aimed at preventing the sale, storage and distribution of prohibited, substandard, adulterated and unsafe food items during the festive period.
The FDA also reported enforcement action in several divisions. In Konkan, officials seized approximately 960 kg of food stock valued at Rs 5.30 lakh. In Pune, 2,005 kg of food items worth Rs 3.76 lakh were seized, while perishable items suspected to be unsafe were destroyed at the Pune Municipal Corporation’s waste processing centre in Dhankawadi. In Nashik, 180 kg of misal sev and Nashik chivda were seized and the licence of the concerned establishment was suspended.
The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division reported the seizure of 420 litres of edible oil and 5,066 kg of other food items. Amravati officials seized 602 kg of food stock, while Nagpur officials seized 60 kg of cashew kernels suspected to be substandard. Across the drive, the FDA reported three FIRs, two arrests, the seizure of two vehicles and the sealing of two establishments.
The department said inspections found suspected substandard and adulterated products, unhygienic preparation and storage conditions, labelling deficiencies and violations involving the sale and transportation of prohibited food items. The licences of five establishments were suspended, while another establishment was ordered to stop business until it obtains the required registration certificate.
FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said inspections and enforcement action would continue to ensure the quality, safe transportation and storage of food products in the interest of public health. The department has asked consumers to report food-quality complaints or malpractices through its toll-free number, 1800222365, or the Food and Drug Grievance Portal.
