Jammu & Kashmir Needs a Tukaram Mundhe Model for Food Safety

Tukaram Mundhe, a 2005-batch Maharashtra-cadre IAS officer and currently Commissioner of Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is known for a strict, hands-on and enforcement-oriented style of administration.

Since taking charge of the FDA in May 2026, he has become widely recognised for an aggressive approach to food safety - conducting large-scale inspections and raids, acting against adulteration and unsafe hygiene practices, suspending licences and initiating legal proceedings where necessary. His approach extends beyond adulteration to food hygiene, storage, labelling and public-health risks, including concerns about excessive sugar, salt and fat.

His approach is simple: inspect on the ground, identify violations, enforce the law and make food businesses accountable. J&K has also undertaken food-safety drives, but the growing health burden demands much more.

Why does J&K need stronger preventive food-safety action?

Worrying Health Indicators

The health indicators are concerning. Firstly, the NFHS-6 (2023–24) reports that 36.7% of women and 27.1% of men aged 15–49 in J&K are overweight or obese. The survey also found elevated blood glucose (less than140 mg/dL) or use of glucose-lowering medication in 13.0% of women and 11.3% of men aged 15 and above, although these figures should not be described as diabetes prevalence.

The ICMR-INDIAB study in the Jammu region provides more specific evidence. Diabetes prevalence is 18.9%, rising to 26.5% in urban areas, with 10.8% prediabetes. Among the 1,520 people studied, 40% of those with diabetes were undiagnosed. The study also found 41.7% general obesity, 62.7% abdominal obesity and 27.1% hypertension.

Kashmir also has important local research concerning Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). A SKIMS-led study reported a PCOS prevalence of 35.3% using Rotterdam criteria among women who underwent complete assessment. A 2026 study of 1,217 female college students in Kashmir also found substantial levels of diagnosed and suspected PCOS, although symptom-based screening cannot be considered a definitive diagnosis.

These conditions are closely connected. Regular consumption of energy-dense foods high in added sugar, refined carbohydrates, saturated fat and sodium can contribute to excess calorie intake and obesity. Increased visceral fat promotes insulin resistance, which can progress to type 2 diabetes and commonly occurs alongside hypertension and cardiovascular risk. Obesity and insulin resistance are also strongly associated with PCOS. This does not mean that energy-dense foods alone cause these diseases but frequent consumption can contribute to an unhealthy dietary pattern.

This is particularly relevant to biscuits, cakes, pastries, puffs, cream products and other bakery/fast foods, where consumers may have little idea how much sugar, salt, saturated fat and energy they are consuming. Clear, prominent nutritional information is therefore a public-health tool, not merely a labelling issue. FSSAI has already recognised the importance of making information on sugar, salt and saturated fat more prominent and has been working on front-of-pack nutrition information.

Cancer and pesticide exposure

Food adulteration may not be the only cause of cancer. However, it is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to preventable factors contributing to cancer. The J&K Government has reported 32,425 cancer cases in the latest three-year periods covered by its Assembly reply - 25,621 in Kashmir Division and 6,804 in Jammu Division. Earlier Population Based Cancer Registry data indicated an estimated 2–3% annual increase in new cases.

Kashmir's orchard pesticide exposure deserves attention in this context. A study involving 1,201 agricultural growers found particularly high pesticide use in Kashmir apple cultivation - approximately 25.2 kg of pesticide active ingredient per hectare, including about 9 kg/ha of pesticides classified by the researchers among the riskiest carcinogenic pesticides. The study also reported inadequate protective practices and pesticide-poisoning incidents.

Even more concerning is a SKIMS study of 432 patients with primary malignant brain tumours and 457 controls. 389 of the 432 patients were reported to be orchard workers, orchard residents or children exposed around orchards, with exposure to pesticides including chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, mancozeb and captan. The study reported a strong association between orchard-related pesticide exposure and brain tumours. While this does not prove that pesticides caused these cancers, it provides sufficient reason for stronger surveillance and preventive action.

Cancer prevention, however, cannot focus only on environmental exposure. Diet is another important modifiable risk factor. Unhealthy dietary patterns and frequent consumption of highly processed, energy-dense foods can contribute to obesity and metabolic disease and are relevant to broader NCD prevention.

Milk adulteration and food safety

Milk deserves particular attention because it is consumed daily, especially by children, pregnant women and older people. FSSAI's national milk-surveillance programmes have identified concerns including fat/SNF quality, antibiotic residues and aflatoxin M1, in addition to adulteration.

J&K should therefore strengthen random, risk-based testing of both loose and packaged milk at collection centres, chilling units, vendors and retail points. Testing should go beyond dilution with water and include relevant adulterants, contaminants, antibiotic residues, aflatoxin M1, microbiological safety and compliance with prescribed nutritional standards.

The Way Forward

J&K needs a more visible, proactive and preventive food-safety model. It should include a multi-pronged approach starting with the conduct of regular, surprise inspections of food establishments and manufacturing units. The authorities should additionally intensify testing of milk, bakery products, fast foods and other commonly consumed foods; testing them for sugar, sodium/salt, saturated fat, trans fat and energy, wherever applicable.

Accuracy of nutritional and ingredient information should be ensured. The information should be visible and understandable, rather than hidden in small print. Action should be taken promptly against misleading nutritional or health claims.

Surveillance of pesticide residues and promotion of safer agricultural practices should be strengthened. Food-safety sampling and enforcement results should be published or presented in a consumer-friendly, transparent format.

Apart from these, there is a need for conducting public-awareness campaigns aimed particularly at children, adolescents and families. At the same time, food businesses must be encouraged to reformulate products with less sugar, salt and unhealthy fats.

J&K does not need to copy another state blindly. But the Tukaram Mundhe model of visible enforcement, ground-level inspection, accountability and prevention offers an important lesson. Food safety should not remain primarily a paperwork exercise. It should become a continuous public-health mission.