Filmmaker Kunal Kohli has joined the social media conversation around Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, playfully urging the official to bring his food safety drive into Indian homes.

In an Instagram story shared on Sunday, August 23, Kohli asked Mundhe to "raid kitchen shelves & refrigerators in Indian Households across the country," noting that many households likely contain expired products that have been carefully preserved for years.

"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," Kohli wrote.

He also encouraged his followers to take up the cause themselves, suggesting a "Tukaram Munde cleaning" of their own kitchen shelves and refrigerators.

Mundhe's Crackdown on Food Safety Violations

Kohli's light-hearted request comes as Mundhe, a 51-year-old IAS officer, has been leading an aggressive enforcement drive across Maharashtra. Since taking over as the state's food safety commissioner in May, Mundhe has conducted more than 3,000 raids on restaurants, hotels, roadside eateries, and food delivery platforms.

His teams have suspended food permits of four Domino's and one Pizza Hut outlet in recent weeks, and have also targeted cricket clubs, a 70-year-old ice cream parlour, and a 110-year-old Parsi Dairy. On Friday, Mundhe's team suspended a McDonald's outlet's permit after finding "live pest activity (cockroaches)" and "rotting food."

Inspections of dark stores linked to quick-commerce companies such as Blinkit and Zepto also uncovered food safety concerns, including pests and expired products.

Government data cited in reports shows that each year since 2020, Indian food inspectors have checked more than 100,000 food samples and found roughly 20% to be unsafe, substandard, or lacking proper labels. Nearly 8,000 food business licences have been cancelled in the last three years.

Public Support and Criticism

Mundhe's actions have earned him a reputation as a no-nonsense regulator, with comparisons to Anil Kapoor's character in the film Nayak and the nickname "Singham" on social media. He has won widespread public admiration, with Ankur Bisen, a partner at consumer consulting firm The Knowledge Company, saying, "Everyone has tried to normalise this for years by saying it happens in India. It's basically bottled-up anger."

"I have never seen anyone like Mundhe. It's giving people hope," Bisen added.

However, the crackdown has also drawn criticism. Some businesses have accused Mundhe of high-handedness and selective targeting, with some approaching the High Court. In one case, judges fined his department 500,000 rupees for the continued suspension of an eatery even after it improved compliance.

A Mumbai judge also questioned Mundhe's selective aggression towards private outlets and asked whether court canteens had been checked. Within hours, Mundhe's teams inspected the canteens and shut some that operated without licences.

Responding to such criticism, Mundhe said, "Those who try to not comply, they will face what is expected from the regulator." He added, "You are dealing with the lives of people."

In an interview with THE WEEK, Mundhe defended the scale of the drive, saying, "The action is proportionate to the level of non-compliance." He also stated, "Those who do not abide by the law cannot do business."

Mundhe acknowledged that the FDA faces a staff shortage, with a sanctioned strength of around 350 food safety officers against a requirement of about 900. He also emphasised the responsibility of food delivery platforms like Blinkit to ensure the food they sell meets standards.

Other FDA Actions

The FDA's ongoing drive covers a range of issues, including adulterated milk, hygiene and food quality at restaurants, junk food sold around schools, and the manufacture and sale of banned gutka and tobacco-based pan masala.

In June, Mundhe prohibited the use of newspapers as packaging material for vada pav. This move was welcomed by consumers like 14-year-old Supriya Wagle, who said she is relieved that vada pav is now packed in cleaner butter paper.

Separately, the FDA recently sent show-cause notices to actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff over a Vimal elaichi advertisement that could amount to surrogate promotion of prohibited pan masala. The notices gave the actors 15 days to submit a written explanation.

Mundhe's Rise to Fame

Mundhe, a 2005-batch IAS officer, has had a 21-year career marked by numerous transfers. In a 2018 interview, he said, "I get transferred every year." Despite the frequent moves, his recent actions have made him a celebrity of sorts, with fans taking selfies with him at an event in New Delhi and one fan suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi give him a national role.

Mundhe, however, downplays his fame. "I don't think I'm a celebrity. I'm just a food safety commissioner," he said.

Industrialist Harsh Goenka also added to the buzz by sharing a picture of a restaurant board reading, "Forget Michelin stars, Tukaram Mundhe approved eatery," suggesting that Mundhe's approval has become a new status symbol for restaurants.

As the crackdown continues, Mundhe's warning to violators remains firm: "This is not just related to adulteration. It has serious and direct effects. It can lead to cardiac diseases and affect children's brain development."

He has also cautioned against the repeated frying of cooking oil, saying it "can lead to many health problems, even cancer." The FDA has advised consumers to be cautious when purchasing loose or unsealed edible oil and to check batch numbers, manufacturing dates, and expiry dates for packaged products.