Maharashtra Food Safety Department officer Tukaram Munde has said that food adulteration can be effectively curbed only through strict monitoring of products from production to distribution. Speaking to reporters in Ahmedabad, he noted that while food safety laws and rules are already in place, compliance remains weak.
Munde said that apart from licensing and registration, many other mandated norms are not being followed properly. He warned that poor adherence to food safety standards is contributing to a broader public health crisis.
He added that people often do not connect their health issues with the quality and authenticity of the food and beverages they consume. According to him, this lack of awareness has become one of the country’s major challenges.
Drawing a comparison over time, he said infectious diseases once accounted for a large share of illnesses in India, but non-communicable diseases have now spread to a similar extent. He linked conditions such as cancer, diabetes and heart attacks to what people eat, and called for greater vigilance on food safety and quality control, both in restaurants and at home.
Emphasising milk and similar products, Munde said end-to-end oversight—from production to distribution—is essential. Such tracking, he said, can help control adulteration and address safety concerns.
