The Maharashtra Food and Drugs Commissioner on Saturday (September 26) said that the Government of India is working towards establishing rules and regulations for e-commerce in the food sector to address gaps in the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and, Food Safety and Standards Rules and Regulations 2011.“Today, we have e-commerce (in food). Do we require legislation and regulations for this? Yes, we do, and we are working on it,” said IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe.The Commissioner who has in recent times gained immense popularity for his strict crackdown against food vendors for not meeting safety standards in Mumbai and elsewhere, was in Gandhinagar to speak with students at Karnavati University.During the seminar, Mundhe spoke about strengthening the “system” to the extent that the food regulator and other stakeholders would continue to work efficiently regardless of whichever officer was appointed to head it.At the press conference following the seminar, when asked by the Indian Express regarding the gaps in the system, course corrections he was making in Maharashtra and suggestions made to the Government of India, Mundhe said, “We have to identify the issues that need to be addressed at various levels: policy, legislation, implementation, and infrastructure, as well as matters concerning the general public.Must Read | Tukharam Munde’s next focus: ‘Hospitals pay Rs 11 for IV set, you pay Rs 325’“At the policy level, just imagine – before 2006 and 2011 – when this Act came into implementation, there were at least a dozen laws governing this sector. Then, a single piece of legislation was passed in 2006 that transformed the sector, from preventing adulteration to safe and standard food – that was one of the gigantic steps India has taken. So, are we doing well on the law front? Yes we are. But then certain new challenges have come up since then, which we could not have envisioned in 2006—for instance, e-commerce did not exist back then,” Mundhe said.Speaking about the need to regulate the online food sector, Mundhe said, “Today, we have e-commerce – we didn’t have dark stores or warehouses back then in 2006), but today we do. We didn’t have cloud kitchens, but now we do. Do we require legislation and regulations for this? Yes, we do, and we are working on it. We have even put forward suggestions regarding how these regulations should be framed at the national level.”Story continues below this adMundhe added, “There are central advisory committees, and as (FDA) Commissioners, we are part of them. We continue to offer suggestions as new challenges arise, and we must devise solutions for them; we need to anticipate these issues and work proactively.”On implementation of existing laws, he said, “Secondly, the implementation has to be effective. We need to utilize IT to the fullest extent possible. In Maharashtra, we have a full-fledged complaints portal – complaints.mahafda.in – where you can register. You can lodge a complaint right from there with geographical location. It is a live system that automatically assigns the complaint to an officer. The complainant can track the status, I can work on it, ensuring complete transparency in the process.”Also Read | UPSC Ethics Simplified: IAS Tukaram Mundhe | Beyond the officer, study the ethical issuesOn the lack of sensitivity towards food standards, Mundhe, during the seminar, said that if anyone checked their own refrigerators, they would find expired food items, especially masalas. During the press conference, he said, “I believe the biggest issue we face is a lack of awareness and sensitization regarding food safety and standards. It is foolhardy to say that we are unaware – we do know – but we lack the necessary sensitivity towards these issues.We need to be far more sensitive regarding food safety and standards and adopting these practices not only when eating out but also at home. We need to build a culture and habits around food safety. These habits should align with established safety standards; when regulations are formulated, every aspect is carefully considered. We should adhere to these standards.”Story continues below this adAll stakeholders, food business operators and enterprises involved in production, the regulators – FSSAI and State FDA, and third, the public, need to work towards food safety, as food security cannot be achieved without standards, said Mundhe, adding, “It has to become an integral part of the discourse and an integral part of implementation. It begins at home; the moment we start incorporating habits regarding safe and standard food, it will automatically extend to the public level. On the other hand, food business operators must fully adopt and implement rules and regulations—not just in letter, but also in spirit.”Price capping for Hospital ConsumablesRegarding a question on the capping and review of prices for commonly used hospital consumables, Mundhe said, “I submitted a report to the Government of India regarding these hospital consumables; although some might not be classified as “essential” in a strict sense, they are essential in real-world practice because they are used whenever a patient is hospitalized. This wasn’t just a survey; it was actual data from hospitals showing huge trade margins—ranging from 150 percent to over 2,800 percent. We offered several suggestions, including the possibility of capping trade margins.”He added, “There are multiple options—such as capping profits, increasing regulation, or bringing it under the Drug Price Control Order. I believe the Government of India is considering this and exploring the possibilities, though I do not have any official feedback on it yet.”Food Vigilance During FestivalsOn vigilance during festivals, Mundhe said, “It has nothing to do with culture, religion, or the festival itself; rather, it is about food safety. A standing order has been issued categorizing the festivals that occur throughout the year into three levels: state-level festivals, regional level, and local level. As for the actions to be taken, they will start 21 days before the festival begins. The first phase involves actions 21 days prior; the second category covers the period from 15 to 20 days before; and the third phase takes place during the festival itself. Legal proceedings regarding this are to be completed within 30 days after the festival; that is clear. This order was issued a few days before the Ganesh festival.”Story continues below this adHe added, “During the festival, we could observe the impact—vendors without registration could not operate. We suspended around 250 to 300 licenses. During this period, almost 30,000 kilograms of food products were seized and destroyed. This included milk and milk products, khoya (mava), and so on. FIRs have been filed, and food products worth around Rs10 crore have been seized. We are establishing an SOP to make this a continuous, automated process.”