Fake Food in Vidarbha: A Growing Menace to Public Health and Consumer Trust

thenewsdirt
4 days ago
9 min read

The eastern Maharashtra region of Vidarbha has witnessed a disturbing escalation in fake food incidents between 2020 and 2025, with enforcement agencies documenting systematic fraud operations targeting everything from basic cooking essentials to festival sweets.

These cases reveal sophisticated criminal networks that exploit seasonal demand patterns, consumer trust in branded products, and gaps in regulatory oversight to distribute adulterated and counterfeit food items across the region's eleven districts.

Nagpur district has emerged as the primary hotspot for food adulteration activities, accounting for the majority of documented cases during this period. The concentration of fraudulent operations in Vidarbha's commercial hub reflects both the region's role as a distribution centre and the presence of manufacturing facilities that criminals exploit for their illegal activities.

The economic incentives driving these operations are substantial, with seizures valued in crores of rupees indicating the massive scale of consumer deception.

The pattern of enforcement actions reveals that fake food operations in Vidarbha intensify dramatically during festival seasons, particularly around Diwali, when demand for sweets, oils, and dairy products reaches annual peaks.

This seasonal opportunism demonstrates how criminals carefully time their activities to maximise profits while exploiting reduced consumer vigilance during celebratory periods. The sophistication of these operations has evolved significantly, with modern counterfeiters employing advanced packaging techniques and distribution networks that span multiple states.

Systematic Edible Oil Counterfeiting Operations

Nagpur has been at the epicentre of sophisticated edible oil counterfeiting operations that exploit consumer trust in established brands. In April 2025, the Crime Branch of Nagpur Police conducted a major operation in Lakadganj that exposed the scale and timing of these fraudulent activities.

Officers raided a godown in Mokhare Mohalla during the height of the festive season, catching 65-year-old Vasudev Khandwani red-handed with 46 boxes of counterfeit soybean oil.

The operation revealed the calculated nature of festival-season fraud. The seized products bore sophisticated fake stickers and logos of well-known brands, along with packaging machines, empty oil drums, electronic weighing scales, and counterfeit labels worth ₹1.18 lakh.

The accused had deliberately timed his activities to coincide with the festive season when demand for edible oil typically spikes and consumers are less likely to scrutinise their purchases carefully.

Earlier, in June 2021, Tehsil police had uncovered another elaborate adulterated edible oil manufacturing unit operating in Nagpur. The raid exposed a network involving three individuals who had created an entire fake production and distribution system.

Officers seized approximately 28 15-litre tins of impure edible oil being sold at ₹2,600 per container, along with fake stickers and manufacturing equipment.

The 2021 operation revealed the sophisticated marketing strategies employed by these criminals. Prem Gagwani, Shankar Durugkar, and Ashok Keswani had developed a system where they offered hefty commissions to retail shops willing to sell their adulterated products.

This approach created a network of unwitting accomplices who helped distribute the fake oil across Vidarbha while believing they were selling legitimate products.

The counterfeiters demonstrated remarkable sophistication in their operations, using fake labels and logos of genuine products to deceive consumers completely.

The investigation revealed that complaints had reached the company representatives through Sanjay Tiwari, highlighting how the fraud had become widespread enough to damage the reputation of legitimate brands whose identities were being stolen.

Festival Season Sweet and Spice Adulteration

The pre-Diwali period consistently witnesses the most intensive food adulteration activities across Vidarbha, with Nagpur serving as the focal point for large-scale operations.

In November 2024, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration conducted its annual pre-Diwali inspection drive across Nagpur district, resulting in one of the largest single seizures of adulterated food materials in recent years.

The operation seized approximately 24,000 kilograms of food material, including 688 kilograms of fake sweets and mava and 8,886 kilograms of adulterated edible oil. The FDA collected 300 food samples during the drive and sent them to government laboratories for analysis.

The total value of seized materials exceeded ₹32.5 lakh, with edible oils accounting for ₹14.5 lakh and flour products contributing ₹18 lakh to the seizure value.

The 2024 operation targeted a sweet manufacturing unit in Nara, Jaripatka, which was operating without the requisite food licenses. FDA teams under Joint Commissioner K R Jaipurkar collected 51 sweet samples and sent them for laboratory testing.

The focus extended beyond sweets to include raw materials like rawa, atta, besan, and bhagar, revealing how adulteration had penetrated the entire supply chain of festival food preparation.

The scope of the problem became evident when FDA sources reported that several traders were selling loose edible oil despite repeated warnings against such practices.

The traders were found stocking and selling edible oil from tin containers with broken seals, representing clear violations of food safety laws. This practice created additional contamination risks while making it impossible for consumers to verify product authenticity.

An earlier but equally significant operation in October-November 2015 had demonstrated the persistent nature of festival season adulteration.

The FDA seized adulterated food items worth ₹75 lakh during a month-long operation that targeted 38 different locations across Nagpur. Material weighing 34,855 kilograms was confiscated, including 25,147 litres of adulterated edible oil valued at ₹28.97 lakh.

The 2015 operation revealed the breadth of adulteration activities, with seizures including chilli powder, various types of flour, cooking oil, khowa, ghee, milk products, hydrogenated vegetable oils, and sweets. The FDA also monitored illegal trading in banned items like pan masala and kharra, seizing these products worth ₹22.88 lakh in addition to the main food adulteration cases.

Sophisticated Spice and Sweet Manufacturing Fraud

The adulteration of spices and sweets in Vidarbha has involved increasingly sophisticated techniques that pose serious health risks to consumers. In January 2019, FDA officials raided Ganga Sweets factory in Pachpaoli, Nagpur, uncovering a large-scale operation that was systematically deceiving consumers about product ingredients.

The raid resulted in the seizure of 4,873 kilograms of spurious soanpapdi worth ₹3.16 lakh.

The investigation revealed that factory owner Raju Shivaji Bhunje was using green-coloured peanuts instead of genuine pistachios in his products. The labels clearly mentioned pistachio as an ingredient, but laboratory analysis revealed the complete substitution with cheaper alternatives.

FDA officials emphasised the serious health implications of such practices. The use of spurious pistachios and artificial colouring agents can be extremely harmful to health, particularly when consumed in large quantities, typical during festival seasons.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of Joint Commissioner Shashikant Kekare and Assistant Commissioner Milind Deshpande, reflecting the high priority given to such cases.

The 2019 case highlighted how sophisticated the deception had become. The products appeared authentic to casual inspection, with professional packaging and labelling that would fool most consumers. Only laboratory analysis revealed the true nature of the ingredients, demonstrating the level of scientific investigation required to detect modern food fraud.

A more alarming case emerged in October 2016 when FDA officials raided M/s Shruti Spices Pvt Ltd at Teka Naka, Kamptee road. The operation seized 85 packets of 25 kilograms each of substandard chilli powder valued at ₹2.87 lakh, along with adulterated sweets worth ₹48,780 from multiple establishments.

The 2016 case was particularly concerning because the substandard chilli powder was specifically intended for supply to government schools under the mid-day meal scheme. Joint Commissioner S R Kekare stated that manufacturers deserved severe punishment for endangering school children's health.

The discovery that government feeding programmes could be compromised by adulterated ingredients highlighted systemic vulnerabilities in food safety oversight.

The operation also targeted establishments in Satranjipura and Itwari, seizing 135.5 kilograms of adulterated sweets. The coordinated nature of the raids, involving multiple teams and locations, demonstrated how food adulteration networks had spread across different areas of Nagpur.

One of the largest single seizures of fake spice products occurred in September 2015, when authorities in Nagpur confiscated 4,000 kilograms of fake red chilli powder.

This massive operation represented one of the most significant spice adulteration cases documented in Vidarbha, indicating the industrial scale at which food fraud was being conducted.

Wardha District Oil Adulteration and Legal Precedents

Wardha district has also witnessed significant food adulteration cases that have established important legal precedents for enforcement actions.

In October 2017, the judicial magistrate of Wardha, working in coordination with the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration, imposed substantial fines in a case that demonstrated the effectiveness of joint enforcement efforts.

The case involved the seizure of 1,363.4 kilograms of refined soybean oil that had been adulterated with cottonseed oil, valued at ₹1,24,446. The operation targeted M/S K G N Traders and resulted in fines of ₹50,000 each being imposed on trader Vinod D Pardhi and manufacturer M/S K M Refinery Infraspace Pvt Ltd.

The Wardha case was significant because it established clear legal consequences for both traders and manufacturers involved in oil adulteration. The coordinated action between judicial and administrative authorities created a precedent for more comprehensive enforcement efforts. FDA team leader L P Soyam and Assistant Commissioner Milind Deshpande worked together to ensure thorough documentation of the case.

The location of the manufacturing facility at Dabha on Badnera Yavatmal road highlighted how adulteration operations often establish themselves in industrial areas on district boundaries, potentially exploiting jurisdictional complexities for enforcement agencies.

Multi-District Milk Adulteration Surveillance

The most comprehensive food safety operation conducted in Vidarbha between 2020 and 2025 involved systematic surveillance of milk and dairy products across six eastern districts.

The Maharashtra FDA conducted extensive sampling between April 2021 and March 2022, collecting 102 samples from manufacturers, dealers, retailers, distributors, and depots across Nagpur, Wardha, Chandrapur, Bhandara, Gondia, and Gadchiroli.

The results revealed widespread problems with milk quality and safety. Twelve samples were found to be substandard, containing harmful adulterants including vegetable oil, skimmed milk powder, Maltodextrine powder, and excessive water. The investigation exposed systematic attempts to increase volume and extend shelf life through the addition of unauthorised substances.

The milk adulteration surveillance operation was particularly significant because it revealed the regional scope of the problem. Unlike localised cases of sweet or oil adulteration, the milk contamination affected rural and urban areas across multiple districts, indicating well-established supply chain infiltration.

The health implications of milk adulteration are particularly serious in Vidarbha, where rural populations rely heavily on dairy products as primary protein sources.

Children who consume large quantities of milk face the greatest risks from adulterated products that may contain harmful chemicals or lack essential nutrients.

The fake food problem in Vidarbha has historical roots that extend beyond the 2020-2025 focus period. In October 2011, police raids uncovered a sophisticated counterfeiting operation that manufactured duplicate products of reputed brands, including detergents, tea, washing powders, and balms.

The 2011 operation, conducted by Lakadganj police, resulted in the arrest of partners Nilesh Jain and Yogesh Dholwani, along with their employee Anil Joshi.

The investigation revealed a distribution network that extended beyond Vidarbha to include clients in Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gondia, and even neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh.

The seized materials included 800 vials of a popular balm brand, screen-printing machines for preparing fake wrappers, and complete packaging and manufacturing equipment. The operation had established a factory at Shanti Nagar for packaging fake detergents and washing powders, along with a separate godown at Wadi for storage and distribution.

The 2011 case demonstrated how counterfeit operations had evolved to include food products alongside other consumer goods.

The criminals packaged substandard tea leaves in packets bearing high-quality brand names and used sophisticated printing equipment to create convincing replicas of established manufacturer packaging.

The enforcement response to fake food cases in Vidarbha has evolved significantly during the 2020-2025 period. The Maharashtra FDA has increased the frequency of surveillance operations, expanded laboratory testing capabilities, and improved coordination with police agencies. The introduction of more sophisticated testing methods has enabled the detection of adulterants that might have escaped notice in earlier periods.

The seasonal patterns revealed through enforcement data show that fake food operations in Vidarbha follow predictable cycles. Pre-festival periods, particularly before Diwali, witness intensified criminal activity as operators attempt to exploit increased demand and reduced consumer scrutiny. This pattern has enabled authorities to plan targeted enforcement operations during high-risk periods.

The cases documented across Vidarbha between 2020 and 2025 reveal the persistent and evolving nature of food fraud in the region.

From sophisticated edible oil counterfeiting operations to large-scale sweet adulteration networks, criminals have consistently adapted their methods to exploit consumer trust and seasonal demand patterns.

The concentration of cases in Nagpur district reflects both the region's commercial significance and the ongoing challenges faced by enforcement agencies in maintaining food safety standards across this vital agricultural region.