After hotels and milk, Maharashtra FDA turns its attention to infant food safety
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has added child nutrition and infant food to its inspections, Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said.
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now turned its attention to the safety of food for infants. The department had earlier stepped up inspections of hotels, milk and dairy products and several other food items. Child nutrition and infant food have now become a new area of inspection.
Under FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, the inspection of food items and collection of samples have increased substantially over the past few months. In the three months from June to August 2026, the FDA collected 34,584 food samples. Mundhe recently said that child nutrition, and infant food in particular, is an important area in the broad campaign under way for public health.
Strict provisions already exist for the packaging and labelling of infant food. Under the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods Act, 1992 (IMS Act), the message "MOTHER'S MILK IS BEST FOR YOUR BABY" must be printed prominently on the packet of an infant milk substitute or infant food. A notice must also say the product should be used on the advice of health workers. The packet must carry the ingredients, nutritional composition, storage instructions, batch number, and the dates of manufacture and expiry.
The Food Safety and Standards (Foods for Infant Nutrition) Regulations, 2020 also provide for the same message to be displayed prominently on the front of the pack. For infant food, they also provide for a message that such food should be started after six months and up to two years. However, under the rules, an exception may apply to special foods made for certain medical conditions.
An infant cannot read a label or choose a brand. It is therefore important that parents get clear information on exactly what the product contains, which age group it is meant for, how to use it, and what its quality and safety are. The IMS Act states its main aims as protecting and promoting breastfeeding and regulating the proper use of infant foods.
The campaign appears to focus not only on action against offenders but on ensuring that safe infant food products, made according to the rules and carrying proper information, reach consumers. According to official information from the Maharashtra FDA, the Foods for Infant Nutrition Regulations, 2020 are among the food safety rules the department enforces.
