# Tukaram Mundhe Opens up on Food Safety, Hygiene, Bribery to Politics & Food Mafias on PGX

An episode of [The Prakhar Gupta Xperience](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1458523731), 25 Aug 2026, 1 h 13 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/f6473d5c/podcast/play/124710494/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-7-25%2F430506164-44100-2-fa9a44f7a3d0f.mp3

Welcome to PGX: Raw & Real #209PGX: Raw & Real is simple. I sit with people who’ve lived through something and/or made it big.This isn’t meant to be inspiration or a template for life (for that, you can check out PGX Ideas).This space is different. It’s their story, as they experienced it.In this episode, I spoke to IAS Tukaram Mundhe — Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe.Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:38 - Joining Maharashtra FDA 03:16 - His First Move As Commissioner 05:35 - Cracking Down On Gutka And Paan Masala 06:48 - Why He Stopped Just Sampling Food? 09:42 - Is He Scared Of Powerful People? 12:14 - Do Powerful People Try To Pressure Him? 14:37 - Has He Ever Been Offered A Bribe? 16:06 - Who's Really Behind Surrogate Ads? 19:17 - The 98% Compliant Hotel That Still Got Shut 22:56 - When The Courts Don't Back You 25:22 - What Keeps Him Going On Bad Days 29:25 - Where His Honesty Comes From 33:18 - Why Was He Punished For Doing His Job? 39:02 - Corruption Starts At Home 44:12 - His Strict One Meal A Day Diet 45:33 - The Truth About Protein Supplements 49:03 - The "100% Pure" Food Lies 53:58 - The Most Disgusting Kitchen He's Seen 55:16 - Are Big Brands Actually Safer? 1:02:03 - Why Nobody Votes For Clean Water 1:06:27 - Confronting Him On His Own Advice 1:09:35 - His Message To Gen ZEnjoy.— Prakhar

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