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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has intensified a nationwide enforcement campaign against adulteration and food safety violations during the festive season, seizing nearly 3,280 tonnes of substandard and prohibited food items valued at approximately 81.80 crore rupees. Following inspections across 56,431 food establishments between September 1 and November 5, 2026, the food safety regulator cancelled the operating licences of 52 food business operators, suspended 1,133 licences, and sealed 314 commercial facilities for serious regulatory non-compliance. The extensive crackdown primarily targeted high-demand festive staples, including paneer, ghee, milk, and sweets that failed to satisfy statutory quality and hygiene benchmarks.
Over 56,000 Food Establishments Inspected Across the Country
The statutory regulatory body launched its comprehensive surveillance drive at the beginning of September to mitigate the heightened risks of food contamination and commercial adulteration that typically accompany festive surges in consumer demand. A core objective behind the widespread monitoring effort was to protect consumers from unsafe culinary products and to ensure that edible goods circulating in open markets strictly align with national safety parameters.
According to data compiled by the authority up to November 5, field teams completed detailed inspections across 56,431 commercial food establishments located nationwide. During this process, regulatory personnel impounded a total of 3,279.57 tonnes of non-compliant and prohibited consumer edibles, with the aggregate value of the seized stock evaluated at 81.80 crore rupees. Authorities expanded their corrective scope beyond material seizures, opting for stringent administrative actions against persistent violators found operating outside the provisions of established food safety laws.
Regulators Cancel 52 Licences and Issue Over 10,000 Notices
The food authority implemented a multi-layered punitive strategy to hold non-compliant traders and processing units accountable. Official figures reveal that 52 operating licences were completely cancelled after teams uncovered major lapses, while 1,133 commercial licences were placed under temporary suspension pending regulatory review. Furthermore, enforcement squads sealed 314 operational premises due to recurrent non-compliance and fundamental breaches of hygiene requirements.
To ensure compliance across the broader supply chain, the regulator also served 10,047 improvement notices to food business operators. These statutory notices direct business operators to rectify detected deficiencies related to production standards, sanitary conditions, and overall storage safety. The widespread issuance of these directives confirms that the food authority is pairing material confiscations with enforceable corrective mandates, making it clear that administrative penalties will replace informal warnings for operators who disregard safety codes.
Heightened Surveillance on Dairy Products and E-Commerce Platforms
Seized goods gathered during the enforcement campaign consisted primarily of high-risk essentials such as paneer, ghee, milk, and various traditional sweets. Consumer intake of these dairy-based goods escalates sharply during the holiday months, magnifying public health hazards when adulterated, inferior, or contaminated ingredients are distributed into retail channels.
The regulator had previously taken legal and policy steps to strengthen standards for milk products and to ensure authentic product labelling. A draft amendment was proposed to restrict the sale of imitation dairy products marketed as paneer, mandating that only products derived exclusively from natural milk can be legitimately designated as paneer. Alongside brick-and-mortar processors, the authority expanded its oversight to encompass e-commerce enterprises throughout the current calendar year. With an increasing proportion of food distribution shifting to digital storefronts, the authority emphasised that monitoring online supply chains remains a top institutional priority, cementing seizures, licence cancellations, suspensions, and premises closures as permanent components of its comprehensive consumer safety mandate.
