FDA officials said awareness efforts were under way to encourage registrations
Kolhapur : Only 250 of the district’s 8,000 registered Ganesh mandals have enrolled online with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for mandatory approval of Mahaprasad programmes amid stricter enforcement of food safety norms. “So far, 250 Ganesh mandals have registered online. As a result, several organisers have been making the rounds of FDA offices to understand the registration process and complete the required formalities.
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This year, we have not received a single order so far,” Pallavi Kulkarni, a caterer from Kolhapur, said. But fulfilling all the conditions is financially difficult for small mandals like ours,” said Ranveer Khedkar of the Swami Samarth Group in Pune’s Timber Market area. “For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have cancelled our Mahaprasad programme,” he said. FDA officials said awareness efforts were under way to encourage registrations. We have displayed boards explaining the online registration process to make it easier for mandals to obtain approval,” an FDA official in Kolhapur said. The officials said the guidelines were aimed at ensuring devotees receive safe and hygienic prasad, but the low registration numbers indicated that many mandals were still struggling to adapt to the new compliance requirements.
many dropped plans citing the financial burden and procedural hurdles While mandals largely welcomed the tighter checks. Under the new rules, mandals must obtain a police no-objection certificate, register on Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) portal, engage a licensed caterer, secure FDA approval and source ingredients like oil, ghee and gram flour from registered vendors. The new regulations have also hit small-scale caterers who rely on Ganesh festival orders. For many mandals, Mahaprasad is a longstanding tradition. “What FDA is doing is commendable and we support it. Many organisers are visiting our office to seek information about registration and permits. Download the TOI App.
“Last year, we had a Mahaprasad order every day during the festival.