The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has suspended 105 food business licences and ordered the closure of seven establishments after a two-day inspection campaign across the state, with action against Blink Commerce Private Limited and Zepto Limited among the cases reported in Mumbai and other urban centres.
According to an official statement cited in the report, the inspections were conducted on November 4 and 5 as part of a special campaign ahead of Diwali. The suspended licences include 39 establishments in the Nashik division, 28 in Mumbai, 20 in Pune, 15 in Amravati, two in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and one in Thane.
The seven closure orders cover three establishments in Pune, two in Amravati, and one each in Mumbai and the Konkan division. The establishments named in the report include Mumbai’s Rajdhani Biryani Centre, Aradhana Dryfruit Sweets in Bhiwandi in Thane district, and three food businesses in Pune.
The suspended businesses include Blink Commerce Private Limited and Zepto Limited in Mumbai, along with sweet shops, hotels, restaurants and catering establishments. The FDA said its inspections found shortcomings including unhygienic manufacturing and storage conditions, inadequate handling and packaging of food, a lack of pest-control arrangements, insufficient temperature-control systems, and the absence of mandatory records and certificates.
The findings are particularly relevant to urban food supply chains, where products move rapidly through restaurants, central kitchens, warehouses, retail outlets and quick-commerce delivery networks. The report does not specify which individual facilities linked to Blinkit or Zepto were found deficient or identify the particular products connected to each suspended licence. The FDA action, however, places licensed food businesses operating through both conventional and app-based channels under the same food-safety compliance framework.
During the campaign, the regulator seized more than 39,485.42 kilograms of food products valued at approximately Rs 1.35 crore from more than 70 establishments. The seized material included mawa, khoya, paneer, ghee, edible oil, farsan, dry fruits and various sweets. These products are widely sold during the festive season and require appropriate storage, handling and temperature management to remain safe for consumption.
The FDA also seized banned gutka and pan masala worth Rs 7.96 lakh from three locations. Three first information reports were registered in connection with those seizures, two people were arrested, two vehicles were seized and two establishments were sealed, according to the report.
The action highlights the enforcement burden faced by food regulators in dense urban markets, where large volumes of perishable and prepared food are handled through fragmented networks. Compliance depends not only on the final retail outlet but also on manufacturing, storage, transportation, packaging and record-keeping practices across the supply chain.
The Maharashtra FDA’s inspection campaign covered multiple divisions and included both independent food businesses and companies operating within organised delivery ecosystems. The official statement did not provide details of the duration of the licence suspensions, the conditions for reinstatement or any appeal process. Those details, along with the specific establishments covered under the Blinkit and Zepto-related action, remain subject to further regulatory communication.
