The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has significantly ramped up laboratory testing of food, medicines and cosmetics, with more than 37,600 samples collected for examination between June and August 2026.
According to data released by the Maharashtra FDA on Thursday, 34,584 food samples and 3,020 drug and cosmetic samples were taken up for testing during the three-month period, taking the total to 37,604 samples.
Of these, testing has been completed for 32,604 samples, 30,492 food samples and 2,112 drug samples.
The FDA said 15,268 samples were declared non-standard, including 15,160 food samples and 108 drug samples. The category includes samples found to be non-standard in quality as well as those identified as spurious or misbranded.
The figures also show a sharp increase in testing activity compared with 2025-26. The administration said the volume of food samples taken for laboratory testing and the number tested have increased by an average of 340 per cent and 435 per cent, respectively, compared with the previous financial year.
For medicines, the corresponding increase was 175 per cent in samples collected and 165 per cent in samples tested.
The FDA's data show that during 2025-26, a total of 47,600 food, drug and cosmetic samples were taken for testing, of which 33,119 had been tested. This worked out to a monthly average of about 3,967 samples collected and 2,760 tested.
In comparison, during June-August this year, an average of around 12,534 samples a month were taken up for testing, while 10,868 samples a month were tested.
The FDA cautioned that the non-standard figure should be viewed in the context of its enforcement and surveillance sampling. Of the food samples declared non-standard during the period, 15,055 were enforcement samples, while 105 were surveillance samples. Among drug and cosmetic samples, eight were classified as spurious, 93 as not of standard quality and seven as misbranded.
The department said legal action has been initiated against manufacturers and distributors based on laboratory findings, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, along with the relevant rules and regulations.
Maharashtra currently has three drug-testing and three food-testing laboratories located in Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur. Food samples are also sent to the State Public Health Laboratory in Pune. The FDA said its food-testing laboratories are NABL accredited.
The increased testing is part of the administration's “Safe Food, Safe Drug, Safe Maharashtra” campaign, under which it is also undertaking inspections, market surveillance, complaint investigations and enforcement action.
“Sample testing, along with risk-based inspections of manufacturers and distributors, market surveillance, enforcement, complaint investigation and, where necessary, criminal action, is being undertaken continuously to protect citizens' health,” Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said.
He added that strict action would be taken against manufacturers and members of the distribution chain if substandard, spurious, adulterated or otherwise non-compliant products pose a risk to public health.
