Mumbai FDA seizes Rs 45 lakh of dairy goods in sweeping hygiene raid

Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration has seized 2,317 litres of milk, 30 litres of refined edible oil used for adulteration, and 6,849.25kg of dairy products in a statewide crackdown, with the combined haul valued at more than Rs 45 lakh. The campaign’s highest-profile casualty in Mumbai is Parsi Dairy Farm, the Marine Lines institution that has operated since 1916.
An FDA inspection of Parsi Dairy Farm found no dedicated raw milk reception dock, fungal growth on the walls, raw materials stored directly on the floor, and pest and rodent infestation, prompting the license suspension. A company spokesperson said, ‘The company is in the process of complying with certain procedural technical observations of the FSSAI.’ The action follows recent suspensions at ice-cream parlour K Rustom and the Shalimar and Noor Mohammadi restaurants.
In Mumbai, two vendors were caught adulterating milk pouches; 822 pouches, or 558 litres, worth Rs 39,503 were seized and destroyed, with the Kandivali Crime Branch assisting and an FIR registered against vendors Krishna Lingampalli and Ravi Patikaka.
In Govandi, officials found Sufi Dairy storing 1,683 litres of loose pasteurized buffalo milk in steel tanks and plastic bags, violating rules that require such milk to be sold in sealed, tamper-evident packaging; the stock, worth over Rs 1 lakh, was seized and destroyed. In Mulund, Agarwal Enterprises lost 61.25kg of products, including diced cheese blend, barfi and loose paneer worth Rs 19,759, over missing batch numbers and expiry dates, with officials also suspecting the paneer was a cheese analogue; samples have gone for laboratory testing.
The FDA said residents can now flag suspected violations through an AI-based grievance portal, complaints.mahafda.in. In a separate action, the state’s drugs department seized Rs 10.94 lakh worth of unlabelled toilet soap from JK Soap Bazar in Jogeshwari for lacking mandatory manufacturing and safety details.
[Wikimedia Commons/by Sameertamoreraghunath]