Maharashtra's Food Safety Crackdown: Why Ferrous Contamination Control Can't Wait
Share
Since taking charge as Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration Commissioner in May 2026, IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe has run one of the state's most aggressive food safety enforcement campaigns.
For food and pharma manufacturers, that's worth paying attention to. FSSAI compliance is being enforced now, not just written down, and the businesses getting caught aren't always the ones you'd expect. If your production line hasn't reviewed its contamination controls recently, this is a good time to.
What FSSAI Actually Says About Foreign Matter
FSSAI's food safety standards cover "foreign matter" contamination directly, and metal fragments, ferrous ones especially, are one of the most common sources flagged during inspection and testing. They're also one of the more preventable ones. Unlike biological contamination, which can be harder to control across a supply chain, ferrous contamination usually has a clear, physical origin: equipment wear, packaging material, or upstream raw material that was never screened.
A single metal fragment reaching a retail package is exactly the kind of finding that turns a routine inspection into a shutdown, and exactly the kind of finding a magnetic separator is designed to prevent before it happens.
How Magnetic Separation Fits Into FSSAI Compliance
Magnetic separation is the standard control point for ferrous contamination in food and pharma processing, used at intake, mid-line, and pre-packaging stages depending on where the risk is highest in a given process. PML manufactures the full range used across Indian food and pharma facilities:
- Easy Clean Magnetic Grills and Drawer Type Magnetic Grills, food and pharma-compliant, positioned at gravity-fed intake points where raw material first enters the line
- Self Cleaning Magnetic Filters for liquid and slurry lines, catching particles as fine as 1 micron without stopping production
- Magnetic Rota Grid Separators, built for sticky or moisture-prone materials where a static grill would bridge and clog
- Pneumatic Chute Magnets for pneumatically conveyed lines in food and pharmaceutical processing
Each of these is a proactive control, catching contamination before it reaches packaging, not after an inspector or a customer finds it.
Officer Tukaram Mundhe's enforcement drive has specifically targeted facilities that assumed their status or track record would protect them from scrutiny, including institutions as established as the Bombay High Court's own canteens. That pattern matters for manufacturers too. A documented, verified ferrous-contamination control point isn't just a safety measure anymore, it's the difference between passing an inspection and becoming the next headline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does FSSAI require magnetic separation equipment? FSSAI doesn't mandate a specific brand or method, but its food safety standards require control of foreign matter contamination, including metal fragments. Magnetic separation is the standard, widely accepted method manufacturers use to meet this requirement in practice.
Where should a magnetic separator be installed in a food processing line? It depends on where contamination risk is highest: at raw material intake (grills, plates), mid-process for liquids and slurries (magnetic filters), or just before packaging as a final check. Most food-grade lines use more than one separator at different points rather than relying on a single unit.
What Gauss rating is needed for food-grade ferrous contamination control? Fine ferrous particles common in food processing typically require high-intensity NdFeB separators, often in the 11,000 Gauss range, compared to standard ferrite separators used for coarser tramp metal in other industries.
PML has manufactured food and pharma-grade magnetic separation equipment for 65+ years. Explore the full range or enquire about a food-grade separator for your line.
Sources: