FDA raids cosmetic manufacturing unit, its marketing firm in Thane

The Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) raided a cosmetic products manufacturing firm and a marketing company in Bhiwandi area of Thane district in Maharashtra, and seized merchandise worth Rs 3.47 lakh, the officials said on Friday, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, the FDA conducted the raid at the cosmetic products manufacturing firm and a marketing company on April 3 based on the information received by the intelligence branch of the government agency`s Mumbai office.

The officials had received inputs that the company was allegedly producing cosmetics illegally as it did not have a valid licence, an official release said, as per the PTI.

Acting on the inputs, Assistant Commissioner of the FDA`s intelligence branch V R Ravi, Assistant Commissioner of FDA in Ratnagiri and drugs inspector (Thane) Shubhangi Bhujbal jointly executed the operation and raided the the cosmetic products manufacturing firm and a marketing company, it said, the news agency reported on Friday.

During the inspection, the authorities found that the company was manufacturing products allegedly by making claims about its cosmetic benefits, and it also possessed a registration number allotted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), raising concerns about its true nature and regulatory compliance, it said, reported the PTI.

The officials have also collected the samples of the products seized during the raids and have sent them further testing. The remaining stock of the product, along with labeling and packaging materials for other undeclared cosmetics found at the site, were seized by the FDA teams, the release said, according to the PTI.

The FDA teams later visited the premises a marketing company, where the officials seized the entire stock of two cosmetic products, and collected its samples for further analysis, as per the PTI.

The raids were conducted under the directions of FDA Commissioner Rajesh Narvekar and other senior officials, the release said.

The seized products will be subjected to rigorous testing to ascertain their quality and safety standards, it added, the news agency reported on Friday.

The officials said that further investigations in the matter were on going.

(with PTI inputs)