Tukaram Mundhe effect? Reputation at stake, food businesses become ‘more vigilant’, shift to monthly audits, says report

Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chief Tukaram Mundhe's crackdown on dirty kitchens at commercial outlets, misleading product labels, and action on consumer complaints has prompted businesses to rope in experts to help them avoid regulatory action.

Strict enforcement of rules drew companies' attention as regulators in Maharashtra and elsewhere, including Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, and West Bengal, intensified checks on restaurants, food manufacturers, and quick-commerce operations.

From occasional checks to routine

According to Bloomberg, businesses which sought quarterly food safety checks now ask for monthly audits. The surge is turning food-safety compliance from an occasional check into a routine cost of doing business.

Equinox Labs, a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)-accredited facility providing food testing, audits and safety training, has seen demand from customers across Maharashtra jump 150 percent since June, Chief Executive Officer Ashwin Bhadri told the media outlet. Business across India has risen about 50 percent over the period.

As per the report, some restaurants, food manufacturers and so-called dark stores micro-warehouses used to rapidly dispatch e-commerce orders were asking Equinox for monthly audits instead of quarterly or half-yearly checks. Others are increasing laboratory testing and employee training, with some testing individual production batches.

Regulators reportedly conducted 62,014 inspections of restaurants across India, where they found flies, expired foods and even fake and substitute ingredients, in the fiscal year through March 2026. This was up more than 70 percent from three years earlier, according to FSSAI data.

"In the past, founders didn't want to spend the money to do the right thing," Equinox Labs' Bhadri was quoted as saying. "Earlier, they were doing the bare minimum. Now it is like they're saying, 'we will do everything'," including lifting standards beyond legal requirements, he added.

More work for lawyers

The crackdown on restaurants that violate food safety norms is also generating more work for lawyers, Bloomberg reported.

At leading national law firm JSA Advocates & Solicitors, clients who once sought advice on food-safety rules once or twice a year are now checking in as often as monthly, according to partner Saurya Bhattacharya.

The firm is also fielding new inquiries from businesses seeking to strengthen compliance or respond to enforcement notices.

The push is extending beyond kitchens and warehouses, the report said.

The FSSAI has stepped up oversight of food labels and advertising. The Supreme Court, earlier this month, asked the regulator for a timeline to introduce stricter labels identifying packaged foods high in sugar, salt and fat.

Apeksha Jain, founder of New Delhi-based The Gourmet Jar, which makes packaged sauces and spreads and supplies customers, including popular chain Third Wave Coffee, told Bloomberg, "I think my team has also become a little bit more vigilant because of that, which is a good thing."

Customers are also asking more questions about compliance, while Jain's employees are taking greater care during audits to ensure "nothing falls through the cracks," she said.

Reputational damage

The threat of reputational damage is creating business for specialists such as Angad Chachra, founder of New Delhi's The Bar Consultants, which has audited about 30 restaurants across India in the past three months as clients prepare for regulatory inspections.

These days, "even the smallest incident can spark an entire movement against someone," Chachra said. "No one wants to mess with their reputation online," he added.

Earlier, five-star establishments, including New Delhi's JW Marriott and Mumbai's historic Cricket Club of India, were among those flagged this year for failing to meet hygiene standards.

The tougher approach has been especially visible in Maharashtra Tukaram Mundhe took over the state's Food and Drug Administration a few months ago.

His raids on establishments in Mumbai and other cities have turned him into a social media celebrity, underscoring consumers' appetite for tighter enforcement.

The scrutiny follows years of viral social-media posts exposing unsanitary conditions at food businesses and growing public awareness of food safety, particularly among younger Indians who are using online platforms to call out businesses and demand action from regulators.

The impact has also been felt at the international level. Japan banned imports from India of items such as mangoes this year due to alleged pest-control lapses.

In 2024, countries including Singapore banned products from some Indian spice brands due to concerns over possible contamination with carcinogenic pesticides.