Ahmedabad AMC seals 4 food units ahead of Diwali over FSSAI, hygiene violations
Synopsis
With Diwali demand for sweets and snacks at its peak, Ahmedabad's civic body has sealed four food manufacturing units — flagging poor hygiene, absent worker protective gear, and a common failure to comply with used cooking oil disposal rules. The AMC has warned that inspections and penalties will continue across the city through the festival period.
Key Takeaways
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) sealed four food manufacturing units on 30 October 2026 ahead of Diwali.
Units sealed: Swastik Foods (Shahibaug), Shyam Sundar Food Products (Tavdipura), Prakashkumar Kaniyalal and Amratlal Kuberadas Namkinwala (Gandhi Road).
Violations included poor sanitary conditions, non-compliant packaging and labelling, workers not wearing protective gear, and non-compliance with FSSAI Schedule 4 .
All four units lacked mandatory agreements with Central government-recognised agencies for used cooking oil disposal .
Operators using more than 50 kg of cooking oil daily for frying are legally required to have such disposal agreements in place.
AMC confirmed inspections will continue citywide during the Diwali period, with penalties and sealing under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 .
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has sealed four food manufacturing units across the city for breaching food safety and hygiene norms, following inspections conducted on 30 October 2026 in the run-up to the Diwali festival — a period when demand for sweets and savouries surges sharply.
Units Sealed and Key Violations
The AMC's Health and Food Department identified multiple infractions at the sealed establishments, including poor sanitary conditions, improper packaging and labelling, workers not wearing mandatory protective gear, and the absence of agreements with Central government-recognised agencies for the disposal of used cooking oil.
The four units sealed are: Swastik Foods at Maheshwari Estate, Dudeshwar Road, Shahibaug; Shyam Sundar Food Products at Maheshwari Industrial Estate, Tavdipura; and Prakashkumar Kaniyalal and Amratlal Kuberadas Namkinwala, both located near Old Pratap Cinema on Gandhi Road.
What Inspectors Found at Each Unit
At Swastik Foods, inspectors found the unit lacked adequate tiling, whitewashing and flooring arrangements. Workers were not using caps, aprons, masks or hand gloves as mandated under food safety standards. The unit had also failed to enter into an agreement with a recognised agency for the proper disposal of used cooking oil, and was found non-compliant with Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
At Shyam Sundar Food Products, officials flagged non-compliant packaging and labelling on manufactured products, violations of FSSAI Schedule 4 hygiene provisions during production and storage, and again — no agreement in place for used cooking oil disposal.
Inspections at Prakashkumar Kaniyalal and Amratlal Kuberadas Namkinwala revealed unsatisfactory hygienic and sanitary conditions at both establishments. Neither unit had an agreement with a government-recognised agency for used cooking oil disposal, and both were found non-compliant with prescribed hygiene standards across production, storage and sale.
Used Cooking Oil Disposal: A Recurring Red Flag
A common thread across all four units was the failure to comply with rules governing used cooking oil. The AMC has reiterated that food business operators using more than 50 kg of cooking oil daily for frying are required to tie up with a Central government-recognised agency for the proper storage and disposal of used oil. Such establishments must ensure that oil is neither reused through unauthorised means nor diverted outside prescribed disposal channels. This comes amid growing concerns that recycled or adulterated cooking oil — sometimes referred to as 'used oil' or 'waste oil' — can pose serious health risks when consumed.
AMC's Warning and Ongoing Inspections
The civic body has directed all sweet and savoury manufacturers, packaged food producers and food business operators to maintain hygienic production and storage facilities, ensure ingredient quality, enforce protective gear use for workers, and comply fully with FSSAI Schedule 4 and packaging and labelling norms. The AMC warned that establishments found operating without the required used-oil disposal agreements would face penalties and sealing under applicable regulations. The department confirmed that inspections of food production, storage and sale establishments would continue across Ahmedabad throughout the Diwali period, with action — including penalties and sealing — taken under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Point of View
Yet the violations found this year — absent used-oil disposal agreements, ungloved workers, non-compliant labelling — are the same ones flagged in previous Diwali crackdowns. The recurring nature of these breaches points to a structural enforcement gap: inspections intensify seasonally but clearly do not compel year-round compliance. The used cooking oil rule deserves particular scrutiny; its violation across all four sealed units suggests the regulation lacks either adequate awareness among small operators or a credible deterrent mechanism. Until the AMC — and regulators more broadly — move toward continuous, risk-based monitoring rather than festival-season blitzes, consumers remain exposed for the remaining fifty weeks of the year.
NationPress
30 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the AMC seal food units in Ahmedabad before Diwali?
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation sealed four food manufacturing units on 30 October 2026 for violating food safety and hygiene regulations, including non-compliance with FSSAI Schedule 4, improper packaging and labelling, failure to use protective gear, and the absence of agreements for used cooking oil disposal. Inspections were intensified ahead of Diwali when demand for sweets and savouries typically rises sharply.
Which food units were sealed by the AMC?
The four units sealed are Swastik Foods at Maheshwari Estate, Dudeshwar Road, Shahibaug; Shyam Sundar Food Products at Maheshwari Industrial Estate, Tavdipura; and Prakashkumar Kaniyalal and Amratlal Kuberadas Namkinwala, both located near Old Pratap Cinema on Gandhi Road.
What is the used cooking oil disposal rule that all four units violated?
Under applicable food safety regulations, food business operators using more than 50 kg of cooking oil daily for frying must have a formal agreement with a Central government-recognised agency for the proper storage and disposal of used cooking oil. The oil must not be reused through unauthorised means or diverted outside prescribed disposal channels. All four sealed units lacked such agreements.
What is FSSAI Schedule 4 and why does it matter?
FSSAI Schedule 4 prescribes the hygiene and sanitary requirements that food businesses must meet during the production, storage and sale of food products — covering premises conditions, worker hygiene, packaging standards and more. Non-compliance with Schedule 4 was cited as a key violation across the sealed units and is a common basis for regulatory action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Will AMC inspections continue during Diwali?
Yes, the AMC's Health and Food Department has confirmed that inspections of food production, storage and sale establishments will continue citywide throughout the Diwali period. Establishments found violating the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 face penalties and sealing.
