The Pune Food and Drug Administration seized 34,481 kg of edible oil valued at about Rs 58.90 lakh from eight establishments across Pune district during inspections conducted on October 9, citing suspected quality and safety concerns as well as labelling and record-keeping violations.
The action covered edible-oil manufacturers and sellers in Baramati, Chakan, Ale in Junnar taluka, Jambe in Mulshi taluka, Pune Cantonment, Gultekdi, Shukrawar Peth and Dehu. The seized stock included soybean, palmolein, groundnut, rice bran and sunflower oil.
The establishments named in the action include Sant Tukaram Oil Mill in Dehu, Laxmi Enterprises in Ale, Praj Traders in Gultekdi, Sameer Enterprises in the Baramati MIDC area, Meera Agro Oil Industries in Ambethan, Sanch Farm Pvt. Ltd. at Ramchandra Krupa Industries in Jambe, Garden Vada Pav and Ramkrishna Oil Mills in Shukrawar Peth.
Sant Tukaram Oil Mill accounted for 12,518 kg of seized oil, valued at about Rs 19.38 lakh, while Laxmi Enterprises had 12,434 kg. The FDA seized 3,176 kg from Praj Traders, 2,753 kg from Sameer Enterprises, 2,142 kg from Meera Agro Oil Industries and 880 kg from Sanch Farm. The action at Garden Vada Pav involved 358 kg of groundnut oil valued at Rs 71,918, while 218 kg valued at Rs 84,000 was seized from Ramkrishna Oil Mills.
According to the report, FDA teams found several operational deficiencies during the inspections. These included non-functional laboratories at some establishments, the absence of chemists, reuse of containers, and a common pipeline for the inside and outside of oil storage tanks. Officials also found gaps in product labelling and manufacturing records, along with missing stock registers and batch-wise analysis records at some locations.
The seized oil samples will be sent to laboratories for testing. The FDA said further legal action would be taken after the laboratory reports are received. Until then, the seizure establishes regulatory action over suspected quality, safety and compliance issues, but does not by itself confirm the final laboratory classification of every product.
The inspections were carried out ahead of the festive season, when the department said it was seeking to ensure that residents had access to safe and quality edible oil. The scale of the seizure places attention on the enforcement systems that connect food manufacturers, wholesalers, restaurants and local consumers across Pune district.
Residents can report concerns about food quality or suspected violations to the Maharashtra FDA through its toll-free number, 18002222365, or on the department’s complaint portal at complaints.mahafda.in. The next formal step in the case is the completion of laboratory testing and the FDA’s subsequent legal action.
