India, July 18 -- A food testing machine worth nearly Rs.12 lakh, purchased by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), has gone missing, even as food adulteration has become a major public concern in Maharashtra following the appointment of Tukaram Mundhe as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The machine's disappearance was disclosed in a written reply submitted by the civic administration during the PMC general body's July question-and-answer session.

According to the reply, the PMC health department purchased the food testing machine in 2016-17 for Rs.11.98 lakh and installed it at the Food Hygiene and Health Laboratory in Kondhwa. After the laboratory's contract ended, all its equipment was handed over to the then ...