A food safety officer has become a social media star in India – why?
A food safety officer has become a social media star in India – why?. Image source, Food and Drug Administration, MaharashtraImage caption, A picture of one of the kitchens where Mundhe's team went for a raidAn officer in the Indian Administrative Service, Mundhe has more than two decades of experience and has been transferred so often that reports say the number exceeds his years in service, though he declines to confirm it.
What happened
The scale of India's food-safety problem is serious and numbers presented to the parliament in July offer a glimpse of just how widespread the issue is. Unlike in India's conventional system, where food safety cases and consumer complaints can take years to move through regulators and courts, enforcement actions are now playing out in public. The campaign has also made Mundhe a social media star – he now has more than 3. Under India's food safety laws, businesses are usually given time to fix violations before regulators suspend or cancel their licences.
“Activists who shaped the Gamergate movement have become an established part of the political right … Until now, it seemed to be restricted to social media posting. Photograph: Mike Blake/ReutersExplore more on these topicsMetaToday in FocusSocial mediaLaw (US)Digital mediaChild protectionInternet safetyChildren's techMost viewedMost viewed Since taking charge in May, Mundhe has overseen thousands of inspections and says food safety laws must be enforced regardless of a business's size, influence or reputation.
The wider picture
Videos of his inspections and press briefings circulate widely on social media, where reels and podcasts have turned him into an unlikely celebrity. But his food-safety crackdown has brought him the most attention yet. Of 223,808 food samples tested across India in 2025 and 2026, nearly one in five, external were found to be "non-conforming" – which means the samples were either unsafe, substandard or mislabelled. "Hygiene has always been a problem here," Pawan Agarwal, former chief of India's food regulator, told the BBC.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Street food stalls are popular across India but maintaining consistent hygiene standards can be a challengeWithin a day of that criticism, Mundhe's team inspected canteens in the state's high court complex and flagged violations. "The restaurant inspections – which dominate social media – are only a part of his work. "The efforts of Mundhe have created a nationwide awareness about food safety, both amongst businesses and consumers, which is desirable – but not sustainable," says Agarwal.
Related topicsViral postsIndiaAsiafoodMumbaiMaharashtra
What has been reported
Having riffed on Halo and Pokémon in social media ads last year, inviting potential ICE recruits to “stop the flood” and “catch ’em all”, this time the administration has ripped off a series of recognisable games. Supply Line could almost be an educational game about healthy food in schools, where you sort junk food off a conveyor belt destined for school lunches, except for some reason you play as a boxer who becomes more bloodied with every seed-oil containing, ultra-processed food item that you fail to punch into the garbage chute.
Members of the original Halo team were moved to speak out on social media after the White House posted a picture of Trump as Master Chief last year; I wonder if Sega will have anything to say about this trailer, which opens with a digital chorus singing “Magaaaa”, soundtracking the sorry collection with music that sounds a lot like Sonic’s Green Hill Zone. These games, in line with the Trump administration’s wider social media and communications strategy, are culture-war shitposting.
Yet, as she explains to Annie Kelly, despite the mountain of evidence compiled by journalists, prosecutors, bereaved families and others, it has been nearly impossible to bring Meta and other social media companies to court. It all started in February 2025 when the Indianapolis Zoo welcomed Edi, a healthy baby boy. Will KnightSeedless Blackberries and Cherries That Grow on Bushes Vie to Be the Future of FoodStartups and Big Ag are using Crispr gene editing to create crops that taste better and grow on a hotter planet.
Image caption, Since taking charge as Maharashtra's food commissioner in May, Mundhe has overseen thousands of inspections of cafes and restaurantsByArchana Shukla & Neyaz FarooqueeBBC News, MumbaiPublished5 hours agoThe images are hard to ignore.
What happens next
Spoiled vegetables rot in corners, while food counters show signs of pest infestation. But the photos are from a members-only club in Mumbai – India's financial capital and the capital of its richest state Maharashtra. They are among dozens of photos and videos that have gone viral since May, after Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began a series of inspections at restaurants, cafes and other food businesses across the state. At the centre of the crackdown is 51-year-old civil servant Tukaram Mundhe, the state's new food commissioner.
The campaign has made Mundhe a recognisable face across India, rare for a civil servant. However, even as consumers welcome the speed and visibility of his actions, many in the food industry are less enthusiastic. Regulators can suspend licences immediately only in urgent public health situations but must record their reasons.
The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across bbc.co.uk, theguardian.com, wired.com. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.