All that’s on your plate isn’t healthy: FDA crackdowns force a reckoning

INspection FindingsPUNE/ bombay: The Churchgate-based K Rustom & Co, famous for its water ice bat sandwiches, downed its shutters this hebdomad after an review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revealed rats and cats, not litter trained, scurrying about the shop floor, apart from lapses in its cold chain maintenance. Last week the regulatory agency busted a racket of synthetic milk across five districts in Maharashtra, arrested 13 people, and seized shampoo and emulsifiers sourced from Manchar, Pune, used to adulterate milk.In just one month – May 25 to June 24 – FDA, Maharashtra, carried out 904 raids across the state and seized food and other products worth ₹34.66 crore. The action, which included 457 arrests, sealing of 322 establishments and seizure of 42 vehicles across the six divisions of the state, brings to question our consumption choices – the oil we use to cook, branded packaged dairy products, spices and even water. Setting aside a scare-mongering rhetoric, the question aligns with the very pursuit of healthy living that is no longer confined to yoga-pilates studios and calorie counts. A section of urban India has embraced this consciousness. Fuelled by growing awareness of lifestyle diseases, environmental concerns and nutrition, “clean eating” has become a consumer trend for a reason.But as Mumbai-based clinical nutritionist Kanika Sachdev, of Nutri Bliss Care, said, “Stronger legislation and stronger kitchen audits are the only way forward. People can boycott one restaurant but others may be indulging in unhealthy practices. Checking up on so many restaurants is difficult for citizens.”This week, at a small dairy in a busy bylane of central Pune, when a customer spent time reading the literature on a packet of paneer, the shopkeeper knew there would soon be conversation around “analog paneer” – a term that has travelled from regulatory discussions to ordinary kitchens.For years, a consumer walking into a grocery shop, dairy outlet or restaurant mostly had one question in mind — what is the price? But FDA’s recent crackdown has added another question to that list — what exactly am I buying? The food watchdog recently made it mandatory for hotels and restaurants to declare what kind of paneer they are using.FDA minister Narhari Zirwal said, 1,930 food samples across the state have been sent for laboratory analysis, with reports awaited. The FDA plans further legal action against establishments from where food samples have been collected based on the test reports.While the alarming numbers of violations has made consumers sit up and reassess what they are being served, Tukaram Mundhe, FDA commissioner, cautioned against a sweeping conclusion. “I will not say that everything is adulterated, but I cannot say it is not adulterated either. Unless you are a farmer and producing it yourself, you cannot be certain of what you are buying, unless complying with food safety standards,” said Mundhe, a 2005 batch IAS officer, who has been transferred 25 times in his 21-year career, often due to his strict administrative approach and conflicts with vested interests.Mundhe’s statement erodes consumer trust in manufacturers, vendors, restaurants, and regulators alike. The FDA’s crackdown has targeted everyday dietary essentials – the seized inventory spanned items such as mangoes, dairy products, ready-to-serve fruit beverages, tea powder, packaged drinking water, khoya, bakery products, candies, jaggery, edible oils, ghee, dates, ice creams, frozen desserts and spices.Ajay Gavhankar, a Pune-based nutritionist said, the recent actions have changed the way people look at food. “They don’t look at prices and the expiry date only, but ask whether the ingredients are genuine. The problem is that an ordinary consumer has no way to verify these things,” he said.Manasi Deshpande, who works in the environment sustainability sector and works with municipal corporations, said the biggest concern is that adulteration is difficult to identify. “We depend on the government for checks. The consumer pays money but has no control over the quality,” she said.The daily dairyMilk and dairy products have emerged as one of the biggest areas of concern because they are consumed daily by millions of households. The FDA’s action has raised questions about whether adulteration is widespread across the sector. However, large dairy operators argue that the economics of adulteration do not work for organised players.Dashrath Mane, owner of Sonai Dairy, one of Maharashtra’s largest dairies, said adulteration may be a possibility among smaller units but is not viable for bigger dairies, “as it will affect recovery and prevent us from making other products”.“If the quality of milk is compromised, it affects the entire chain — whether it is curd, paneer, ghee, sweets or other products. For smaller units, investing in laboratories and quality checks may not always be possible, so some of them may accept adulterated milk,” he said.Consumers however cannot differentiate between big and small dealers.As Sachdev said, “People want to check organic food and procure A2 cow milk. However, it is difficult to verify such claims particularly now when demands for such healthy milk is high.”Oil’s not wellEdible oil is next on the list and it brings to question our easy dependence on fried street food. In the mass favourite vada pav, for instance, both the quality of the bread and the oil the potato patty is fried in are suspect.Reused oil, said Mundhe, is a concern. “Oil is known to be reused on multiple occasions – not just once or twice. As per FDA’s analysis, the TPC (Total Polar Compounds) level in oil used by many eateries goes much beyond 25,” he said. TPC is a measure to show how much cooking oil has degraded from repeated heating and frying. In India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) strictly mandates RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil) guidelines, which emphasises on the fact that cooking oil must be discarded and never consumed or sold for food if its TPC level exceeds 25.Such oil is supposed to be collected and converted into biodiesel or used by soap manufacturers instead of entering the food chain again, the RUCO guideline mandates.“It has been observed that oil collected from one place is sold back into circulation after reuse. We are taking action against such establishments. Reused oil is repackaged and comes in boxes. Restaurants use it and it enters our food — whether it is vada pav or any fried item,” Mundhe said.He said the FDA had detected what he described a major illegal oil reuse network. “Our department has in the past caught one of the major lobbies involved in the illegal reuse of edible oil,” he said.Food and healthThis is perhaps the biggest question emerging from the crackdown. Mundhe himself has not claimed that every product is unsafe, but argues that food standards exist for a reason and the challenge lies in ensuring compliance.He pointed out that food regulation changed significantly after the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 replaced the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. “The change was from prevention of adulteration to food safety and standards. That was a transformation — moving from a negative approach to a positive approach of ensuring standards,” he said. The challenge, according to him, is enforcement.The debate over adulteration has moved beyond gauging quality of products to addressing the long-term health impact. After he assumed office in his new role, Mundhe added another dimension to the discussion when he raised concerns over the possible link between poor-quality food and rising health problems.“The question is why India, and Maharashtra in particular, has seen large number of cancer cases,” Mundhe said.As per the Indian Council of Medical Research – National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR-NCRP), in 2020-2022, 14,61,427 incidents of cancer were reported in India. Of these, the highest – 2,10,958 cases -- were reported in Uttar Pradesh, followed by 1,21,717 in Maharashtra and 1,13,581 in West Bengal, respectively.The blame cannot be squarely placed on the consumption of tobacco alone, said Mundhe. “Another element is food items which are adulterated, or those not adhering to mandated standards or not packaged properly,” he said. This led to a state-wide crackdown and fines against vendors using newspapers to pack and serve food. Officials have warned that toxic heavy metals and carcinogenic chemicals in printing inks leach into hot or oily meals, posing severe risks of long-term cancer and poisoning.Medical experts point out that cancer has multiple causes, including genetics, lifestyle, environmental exposure and consumption patterns. However, the FDA action has brought renewed attention to the role of food quality and safety.Dr Nagesh Sirsath, consultant medical oncologist at Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune, said, “When discussing food safety, it is important to distinguish between illegal adulteration, accidental contamination and regulated food processing. Illegal adulteration involves the deliberate addition of harmful substances, such as brick dust in spices, while accidental contamination includes toxins such as heavy metals or mould that result from poor storage. These are different from legally regulated industrial food processing, which is associated with long-term health risks only under certain conditions.”He, said, many alarmist claims suggest that all food additives cause cancer, whereas in reality, toxicology is based on the principle that ‘dose makes the poison’. The risk depends on the amount consumed and the duration of exposure. For example, naturally occurring aflatoxins in improperly stored grains pose a far greater risk of liver cancer than most approved food additives.Dr Sirsath added, “Consumers can reduce their risk by eating a varied diet to minimise repeated exposure to any single contaminant, limiting ultra-processed foods, choosing more whole foods, storing grains and spices in dry, airtight containers to prevent mould growth, washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly, and purchasing food products from reputable brands that follow strict quality standards.”Violations and punitive actionsThe regulatory body initiates enforcement action on the basis of complaints received by the Food and Drugs department, routine inspections, special inspections, intelligence inputs and enforcement drives ordered by the state government. The department also receives between two and eight complaints daily in each division, said an official.The FDA’s Drugs Department acts adhering to provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. The nature of action depends on the seriousness of the violation – for rectifiable violations, manufacturing or sale licences can be suspended for periods ranging from one day to 90 days, in serious cases involving spurious or counterfeit drugs, unsafe drugs, products or other major violations, licences can be terminated.Officials said the existing laws provide stringent punishment for serious offences, including imprisonment ranging from three months to life, depending on the nature and gravity of the violation. In a significant shift towards tougher enforcement, the FDA has also moved to invoke the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against those involved in organised gutkha manufacturing and distribution networks.As FDA’s inspections continue it has unsettled a quiet assumption that the food we buy every day is trustworthy. Whether that caution translates into lasting changes in food safety standards or fades when the spotlight shifts elsewhere, will depend on consistency of enforcement.(Input by Hepzi Anthony)