Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe is currently one of the most celebrated and talked-about IAS officers in the country. Following his surprise raids at several food outlets across Maharashtra, many have even compared him to Anil Kapoor’s character from Nayak. Now, filmmaker Kunal Kohli has asked the food safety officer to extend his crackdown to Indian household kitchens as well.
Kunal Kohli requests Tukaram Mundhe to raid household kitchens
In his latest Instagram post, Kunal Kohli shared a message for Tukaram Mundhe. The filmmaker jokingly suggested that the IAS officer should raid kitchens across Indian households, as he is likely to find expired products in most kitchens.
He wrote, “I request Tukaram Munde to raid kitchen shelves & refrigerators in Indian Households across the country. There will be expired items, from years ago, neatly & safely preserved, the bottles & packets wiped clean every month & put back on the shelf or refrigerator never to be used again.”
Kunal then suggested that everyone should carry out a ‘Tukaram Munde cleaning’ of their homes themselves. He added, “Chalo let’s do a Tukaram Munde cleaning of our kitchen shelves & refrigerator. #tukarammunde @tukaram_ias.”
FDA crackdown across Maharashtra
Kunal’s statement comes at a time when the Maharashtra FDA is inspecting places where food is prepared and sold, including restaurants, hotels, roadside eateries and other food establishments across the state.
As part of the ongoing raids, the department has suspended the licences of several well-known eateries in Mumbai. The inspections have also covered establishments that supply food through online delivery platforms, with action being taken against some of them after expired products and other lapses were found.
The FDA’s inspections have brought renewed attention to food safety and hygiene standards at eateries and other establishments. The department has been conducting checks to identify violations and take action wherever food safety norms are found to have been flouted.
FDA notice to Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff
Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff are also facing scrutiny from the FDA for allegedly indirectly promoting pan masala, a prohibited product in Maharashtra. Earlier, the FDA had sent show-cause notices to the three actors. The actors had come together for an advertisement promoting Vimal’s elaichi (cardamom) in 2024. Vimal is a brand associated with pan masala products.
The FDA has said that the campaign could amount to surrogate or indirect promotion of prohibited pan masala or tobacco-related products. The show-cause notices give the actors 15 days from the date of receipt to submit a written explanation.
The FDA has warned that if no explanation is received, or if the explanation is found to be unsatisfactory, further action may be initiated under the applicable law.