‘We need to balance business & livelihoods with public health,’ says Maharashtra FDA chief Tukaram Mundhe

Tukaram Mundhe is a man on a mission.

The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, spoke to Lijee Philip on how India can make street food safe and clean without pushing an important informal economy out of cities. Mundhe says that while he ate in college canteens during his student days, he now enjoys home food. Edited excerpts:

How can India raise hygiene and food-safety standards for street food without undermining the livelihood of small vendors?

We need to promote our food culture, but we also need to make it safe and ensure that food businesses meet safety standards. It is not our intention to stop any business; it is our intention to promote business. But we cannot compromise the health of people. Businesses should be allowed to grow while maintaining sanitation and proper food-handling conditions. At the same time, food businesses should not come in the way of the city’s growth and development.

What role can zoning play in making street food safer and more organised?

Zoning is very much possible. Look at Mumbai’s Chowpatty and the khau gallis—it can be done. We can have allocated areas where sanitary conditions can be maintained. Not every corner of a footpath can be used by vendors. Footpaths are for pedestrians. We need to plan these areas properly so that livelihoods are protected without affecting public access. Even railway stations have designated spaces, but people still vend outside. Why should that be allowed? We need to promote safe vending and look at the issue holistically. We already have designated places for vegetable markets. We should have similar arrangements for street food.

Several Asian cities have regulated street food without eliminating it. What can Indian cities learn from them?

We need to do the same. We have to promote safe food businesses while ensuring that they operate in proper conditions. It should be a win-win situation for everyone. You cannot set up a business anywhere you want. We need to balance business and livelihood with public health, sanitation, pedestrian access and planned city development.

If cities create designated vending areas, how should the system be enforced?

Designated vending areas will be regulated through a coordinated framework, with local authorities responsible for identifying, allocating and managing vending spaces, while FDA will ensure compliance with food safety and hygiene regulations. The transition of existing vendors to designated areas will be undertaken in a structured and phased manner, with proper identification, registration and allocation of vending spaces. Vendors will be encouraged and facilitated to shift to these locations, while unauthorised vending outside the designated areas will be dealt with through consistent enforcement by the concerned local authorities. At the same time, FDA will undertake registration and licensing, inspections, sampling and enforcement action to ensure compliance with prescribed food-safety standards. The objective is not merely to relocate vendors, but to create a well-regulated, food-vending ecosystem where citizens can experience India’s rich and diverse food culture, vendors can earn a dignified and sustainable livelihood, and consumers can be assured of safe and hygienic food. Livelihood, vibrant food culture and food safety must go together.