Pune has reported the highest number of complaints about unhygienic food in Maharashtra: Mundhe

Pune, Jul 18 (PTI) The highest number of complaints about unhygienic food in Maharashtra has been received from Pune district since the state Food and Drug Administration launched a complaint-reporting portal, FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said on Saturday. The senior IAS officer was in the city to attend a food safety conference organised by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture. Speaking to reporters, he said the FDA recently launched the portal “complaints.mahafda.in” to allow people to register their complaints concerning food items. The new system will bring in accountability and transparency, he said. The FDA joint commissioner of the region concerned will take cognisance of a registered complaint within 24 hours. He or she will have to assign the complaint to an officer. If they fail to take the necessary action within the stipulated time, the complaint will be automatically escalated to a senior in the department. “Thousands of complaints poured in after the portal went live and 10 lakh hits were recorded within 24 hours,” he said. Mundhe, considered an upright officer, said the FDA is exploring the use of blockchain technology to maintain records of entities against which action has been taken in the past. Asked about the distribution of complaints across the state, he said, “The highest number of complaints has been registered in Pune district, and most of them concern unhygienic food.” He also urged hotels and other establishments to comply with food safety management systems and follow all 22 major regulations prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, more commonly known as FSSAI. The crackdown against food businesses in Maharashtra has been intensified since Mundhe took charge as FDA chief in May. Inspections have been conducted at multiple hotels, restaurants and dhabas. The FDA had suspended the food business licence of Mumbai-based Parsi Dairy Farm after finding serious food safety and hygiene violations, officials had said earlier. The agency has also suspended the licence of a canteen operating at Mumbai's KEM Hospital and ordered it to stop business over similar reasons, officials said on Saturday. PTI COR NR