The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Pune has seized over ₹31 lakh worth of food products suspected to be substandard, adulterated or prohibited; and filed criminal cases against 14 establishments during a two-day enforcement drive conducted across the Pune division; officials said on Wednesday.The FDA clamped down on prohibited food products, particularly flavoured and scented supari that is banned in Maharashtra. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)Under the FDA’s ‘Safe food, safe drug, safe Maharashtra’ campaign, raids were conducted across Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Satara, Sangli, Solapur and Kolhapur districts on June 1 and 2; and food products suspected to be substandard, adulterated or prohibited were seized. Criminal cases were registered against vendors selling banned food products.Pune district witnessed some of the biggest seizures during the drive. At Market Yard, FDA officials seized refined soyabean oil and palmolein oil worth over ₹4.34 lakh from Praj Traders. In Pimpri-Chinchwad, officials seized 647 kg of analogue cheese worth ₹1.24 lakh from Maharashtra Milk Dairy at Keshav Nagar, Kalewadi Road, Chinchwad. Another raid led to the seizure of 320 kg of paneer worth ₹83,050, as per a statement released on Wednesday. In Wadgaonsheri, officials seized cow ghee and paneer worth ₹11.91 lakh from Vithumauli Dairy. In Kharadi, 543 kg of paneer worth ₹1.93 lakh was seized from Shivdatt Dairy. Samples of the seized food products have been sent for laboratory analysis.The FDA clamped down on prohibited food products, particularly flavoured and scented supari that is banned in Maharashtra. In Pune city, raids on multiple paan shops led to the seizure of banned products worth more than ₹32,000 along with the registration of criminal cases. In Indapur taluka, officials seized prohibited food products worth ₹1.07 lakh as well as a vehicle valued at ₹9.50 lakh allegedly used for transporting the banned goods. Similar action was carried out in Satara, Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur districts with criminal cases registered under relevant legal provisions.According to FDA officials, adulterated food products collectively worth over ₹31.73 lakh and prohibited food products collectively worth ₹7.45 lakh were confiscated during the drive. Action was taken against a total 14 establishments across the Pune division. The operation was conducted under the guidance of Tukaram Mundhe, commissioner, FDA, Maharashtra; and supervised by D V Bhogawade, joint commissioner (food), Pune division. “Special drives against adulterated, substandard and prohibited food products will continue. Citizens should report such activities to help protect public health,” said Bhogawade. The FDA has appealed to citizens to report the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of unsafe food products on toll-free helpline number 1800222365 so that swift action can be taken against violators.