A food safety officer has become a social media star in India - why?

What the report says

Tukaram Mundhe, Maharashtra’s food commissioner, has become an unlikely social media figure in India after leading a sweeping crackdown on food hygiene violations, BBC News reported from Mumbai. Since taking charge in May, he has overseen thousands of inspections of restaurants, cafes, clubs and other food businesses across the western state, with many of the resulting photos and videos circulating widely online.

According to the BBC, Mundhe’s team has suspended multiple licences, issued more than 1,000 improvement notices and received thousands of complaints through a new portal. The enforcement drive has also extended beyond restaurants to quick-commerce warehouses, celebrity promotions for restricted products, school canteens and midday meal suppliers. Mundhe says the actions are meant to protect public health and apply the rules equally, regardless of a business’s size or influence.

The campaign has won support from consumers and attention on social media, but it has also drawn criticism from restaurant groups and some courts. Industry associations say the approach can be too harsh, while legal challenges have led in some cases to licence suspensions being overturned. In one notable ruling cited by the BBC, the Bombay High Court ordered compensation for a sweets shop after regulators kept its licence suspended despite a later inspection showing it was mostly compliant.

The BBC said the episode highlights a broader food-safety problem in India and raises a larger question: whether the public awareness created by one aggressive official can be sustained through stronger systems rather than personal enforcement alone.