India, June 3 -- In one of the biggest food-safety crackdowns in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region this season, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seized more than 3.4 tonnes of mangoes from the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market in Vashi that were suspected to have been artificially ripened using unauthorised chemical sprays.

The two-day operation, conducted under the directions of FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, resulted in the seizure of 3,453 kg of mangoes worth Rs.11.12 lakh from three establishments in the wholesale fruit market, officials said.

In simultaneous action across Navi Mumbai and Thane, the FDA also confiscated gutkha, pan masala and flavoured tobacco products worth Rs.4.74 lakh, taking the total ...