Maharashtra FDA plans tighter checks on nutraceutical content, claims and sales
Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration is preparing an order covering the content, labelling, sale and consumption of nutraceuticals. Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said the regulator had found missing ingredients, misleading claims and inappropriate use of supplements.
Regulator widens its food-safety campaign
Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration is preparing an order that will tighten scrutiny of nutraceuticals and dietary supplements across the state. FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said the regulator’s findings in the category were “disturbing,” according to The Indian Express. The planned action follows campaigns involving analogue paneer, adulterated milk, edible oil and hygiene failures at restaurants.
The review will extend beyond information printed on labels. Mundhe said the order would cover product content, consumption, prescription and selling. This broad scope could expose manufacturers, brand owners, distributors and retailers to checks at several points in the supply chain rather than limiting enforcement to packaging compliance.
Ingredients and health claims under scrutiny
The FDA’s concerns include products that claim to contain ingredients that are not actually present. Mundhe also pointed to misleading claims, possible adverse effects and consumption patterns that do not match the intended use of the products. He said supplements were being consumed without prescriptions, making sales practices and consumer guidance part of the regulator’s focus.
For manufacturers, the proposed scrutiny raises the importance of documented formulations, raw-material controls, finished-product testing and evidence supporting label claims. Distributors and retailers may also need to verify the regulatory status of the products they handle and review how supplements are promoted at the point of sale. The regulator has not yet disclosed a timetable for the order or specified what inspections, sampling procedures or penalties it will introduce.
Fast-growing market faces higher compliance pressure
India’s dietary supplements market was valued at 20,146 crore rupees in 2025 and is projected to reach 57,262 crore rupees by 2034, according to market research firm IMARC, as cited by The Indian Express. The firm estimates annual growth of about 12%. The size and projected expansion of the market increase the commercial consequences of stricter enforcement, particularly for companies whose sales depend on ingredient, performance or health-related claims.
The nutraceutical initiative is set to follow Maharashtra FDA orders addressing food in schools and, more recently, infant food. Mundhe described the sequence as deliberate, with the authority addressing one age group at a time because food habits form early. For the supplement sector, the message is that compliance may be assessed as a complete chain: what a product contains, what its label promises, how it is sold and how consumers are encouraged to use it. Companies operating in Maharashtra may therefore face greater demand for traceable testing records and defensible marketing claims before the detailed order is issued.