Tukaram Mundhe, the 51-year-old Food Commissioner of Maharashtra, has become an unlikely social media celebrity in India. Since assuming office in May, Mundhe has overseen thousands of inspections targeting restaurants, cafes, and food businesses across the state, revealing shocking conditions ranging from pest infestations to spoiled ingredients.
The images, which include scenes from a members-only club in Mumbai, have gone viral alongside videos of his raids and press briefings. Mundhe now boasts over 3.8 million followers on Instagram, a rare level of fame for a civil servant in India. He asserts that food safety laws must be enforced equally, regardless of a business’s size or reputation.
Mundhe’s department has suspended licenses for several quick-commerce warehouses and issued notices to Bollywood celebrities for advertisements suspected of promoting restricted products. By late July, the FDA had conducted more than 3,100 inspections, suspended approximately 300 licenses, and issued over 1,000 improvement notices. A new complaints portal also received more than 16,000 reports in its first three months.
However, his confrontational style has drawn criticism. Restaurant associations argue that Mundhe is bypassing statutory processes by suspending licenses for minor, rectifiable issues without adequate warning. Courts have described some of his actions as “high-handed.” In August, the Bombay High Court ordered his department to pay 500,000 rupees in compensation to a sweets shop after ruling that the regulator had “gone overboard” by keeping a license suspended despite the shop being 98% compliant.
The scrutiny has extended to government institutions as well. Following court criticism regarding the equality of enforcement, Mundhe’s team inspected canteens within the state’s high court complex and flagged violations. Mundhe maintains that his intent is not to close businesses but to ensure food safety, stating, “We are here to ensure food is safe, food is not substandard, it is not misbranded and it is good for consumption.”
Beyond restaurant inspections, Mundhe has enforced bans on using newspapers for food wrapping, synthetic dyes, and banned non-dairy cheese substitutes. His department has also shifted focus to schools, ordering canteens and midday meal suppliers to obtain proper licenses and banning the sale of high-fat, high-sugar, or high-salt foods within 50 meters of educational institutions.
While consumers have welcomed the visibility and speed of his enforcement, experts caution that the system may not be sustainable. Pawan Agarwal, former chief of India’s food regulator, noted that while Mundhe has created nationwide awareness, the challenge remains to build systems that outlast any individual officer.
Suspensions without due process seem legally shaky. Courts are right to check this high-handedness before it becomes the norm.
Finally, someone enforcing food safety laws equally! The viral raids are necessary shock therapy for our system.