Prof. DM Deshpande
For decades Indian consumers have been complaining about issues concerning food safety, quality and lack of hygiene.
There seems to be some traction on the movement to crack down on culprits who adulterate even with hazardous substances and do not adhere to minimum norms of safety and quality in food dispensing business. While the raids, surprise inspections and shutdowns are reported from several parts of India, it seems to be led by Maharashtra, especially Mumbai followed by Karnataka and other states.
At the all India level, the regulator is FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) and there are state regulators. The FSSAI and some regulators have intensified inspections and have been issuing regular updates. Clearly, the rot runs deep; it is not just the restaurant’s kitchen which remains the primary concern, the probe and inspection now extends to the whole food value chain. The dark stores, food handlers, warehouses- all are in the dock.
It is indeed a monumental task, in a country of 1.4 billion consuming 1.5 trillion meals every year, as the FSSAI said last month. It has analysed 2.23 food samples in 2025-26 and found over 40,000 not conforming to quality standards. The problem includes unsafe food handling, misleading brands/claims and poor compliance with labelling and storage norms.
Efforts to reign in food safety are being taken in several parts of India but one name of the official- Tukaram Mundhe, Commissioner of Maharashtra FDA-has clearly stood out. Since May this year, over 3,000 raids/inspections have been undertaken under his leadership by the FDA covering restaurants, ordinary eateries, street vendors, even well known hotel brands and chains such as Pizza Hut, Dominos and McDonald.
During inspection of 31 establishments, the FDA team found live rodents, expired food items and serious hygiene violations. Food products worth over Rs 25 lakh were seized and five licenses were suspended. Dairy products worth Rs 5.4 crore, were also seized during the three months’ drive with 404 licences suspended.
Consumers have overwhelmingly welcomed these moves. But the question is whether food safety is the responsibility of one person or one state. There is also a concern as to whether such raids are sustainable in the long run. The larger economic issue is whether food safety can be secured by some random inspections/raids.
Instead of taking these actions on a random or adhoc basis, wouldn’t it be better to use technology and base them on risk linked analysis of establishments? Those categorised as high risk ought to be targeted more frequently. Shouldn’t the issue of safety involve training of all those who are associated with handling food at every stage? Finally, high priority to safety should become a part of culture involving all the stakeholders.
Then there is an issue of asymmetry of information. Customers see the dining area but not the kitchen, the store room or the actual refrigeration temperature. Allegations of contamination of chocolates by some big brands, for example, Nestle made media headlines for some time. Now it is facing scrutiny for quality concerns of its popular product ‘Maggie’.
Again, well known brands and service providers-KFC, Marico, Pepsi-also quick commerce giants like Swiggy, InstMart have been alleged to ignore aspects of safety standards. Given that public memory is short, changes in labelling have been suggested to include results of the last two or three inspections. Hygiene is the most common problem. Then why not introduce hygiene rating, say, A,B, C and ensure its public display prominently. This way the customer, too, will become a regulator. Businesses with poor ratings will lose market share.
Eating out is no more a luxury among the Indian middle class. As incomes have improved, the frequency of hotel visits too have increased. Paper compliance is emphasized while the day to day practices may remain the same. Big hotels and establishments may not find it difficult to bear additional hygiene and compliance costs.
Here again, there is a structural problem. As against an estimated 1.3 to 1.5 million certified food safety supervisors, the availability is between 1 to 1.2 million. As a result, in the current situation marked by aggressive raids and checks by authorities, there is a near scramble for recruiting personnel. Not surprisingly, their salaries have risen over the roof. In the case of certain senior food quality professionals, compensation has jumped up by more than 50% within a year since 2025!
Small businesses cannot afford additional costs. Recently when the prices of commercial gas cylinders were hiked due to the war in the Gulf that caused supply shortage, several small eateries had to close down. So, we cannot have identical regulatory norms for all. Regulation has to be proportionate to risk as well as the ability of establishments to comply.
Solutions to the problem of food safety should start from identifying and classifying major problems. Poor basic hygiene, adulteration, use of substandard, even hazardous raw materials, weak compliance and inadequate consumer information-are principal challenges.
In the Indian context, a better system would, therefore, be the one that combines risk based inspections, self audits, mandatory compliance, public hygiene rating, laboratory testing (by third party), training and severe punishments for repeat offenders. This will be a move away from the current ‘raid and punish’ mode to a more nuanced system of continuous quality assurance on a sustainable basis.
Quality culture hinges on developing an eco system that essentially includes quality awareness, education and accountability. Wide disparity in quality standards, awareness and compliance in different parts of the country and given that food quality is such an insurmountable problem, there is a need for a mission mode mass movement backed by top leadership in socio-economic and well known persons from civil society.
If Bollywood and sports stars could also be roped in for this campaign, it will help gain quick popularity.
The author has four decades of experience in higher education teaching and research. He is the former first vice-chancellor of ISBM University, Chhattisgarh
