Mumbai, July 10: Your friendly neighbourhood "doodhwala" will not ring your doorbell in the morning anymore. This is because Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has banned the loose sale of milk with immediate effect across Maharashtra. For generations, thousands of "doodhwalas" have been home-delivering milk to millions of households.
Said Rajmani Pal, a milk retailer from Chembur: "I have downed shutters. My staff will now be jobless. Like me, several hundreds of shops have closed down because the penalty for selling loose milk is Rs 3 lakh. Thousands will be rendered unemployed."
FDA Cites Safety Concerns
Mundhe was unavailable for comment. However, FPJ has a copy of his order dated July 3, 2026, which states that "inspections conducted by the FDA have revealed a widespread and consistent lack of compliance across the entire dairy supply chain."
It noted that "the National Milk Safety and Quality Survey conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India found that milk contamination, particularly due to Aflatoxin M1 originating from contaminated animal feed and fodder, as well as antibiotic residues, is a matter of grave public concern..."
The order states that pasteurised, standardised and all other forms of heat-treated milk must be offered for sale only in sealed, tamper-evident and duly labelled packages.
A retailer from Andheri, who did not wish to be identified, said, "Setting up a milk packaging plant will cost upwards of Rs 12 crore. Where are we going to get that kind of money? For several decades, my family has been in the milk vending business and we have not received a single complaint from our customers."
Goregaon resident K. Adishri said, "For so many years we have been heating milk supplied by the 'bhaiyya' and consuming it. There has been no problem at all. Packed milk will cost more."
Traders Voice Concerns
Babu Chodankar, secretary of the Thane Sahar Doodh Vyavasi Cooperative Society (TSDVCS), which has over 20,000 members, said traders were informed by FDA officials that the sale of loose milk would no longer be permitted from Friday.
“From Friday, all retailers selling loose milk through shops or home delivery have stopped operations. Milk sold and stored in cans cannot be continued,” he said.
He said the move would particularly affect bulk consumers such as sweet shops and ice-cream parlours. “Households will manage by buying packaged milk. But sweet shops and ice-cream parlours depended on loose milk supplies as it was easier for them to process and also Rs 2 to Rs 4 cheaper than packaged milk,” he added.
Mumbai requires around 50 lakh litres of milk every day, while the MMR's daily demand is estimated at nearly 60 lakh litres. According to Ram Patil, a milk trader and consultant to TSDVCS, at least 35 per cent of the region's milk supply comes through loose wholesalers and retailers.
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Mumbai receives milk supplies from Kolhapur, Satara, Nashik, Pune and Sangli. According to Chodankar, the maximum supply comes from Kolhapur, and a large number of loose milk wholesalers and retailers source their milk from the district.
Small retailers dealing in loose milk can continue their business only if they switch to packaged sales by setting up packaging units. However, the transition is likely to be costly.
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