Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Aug 11: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food licence of a Blinkit Commerce warehouse in Malad, Mumbai, after officials found serious hygiene and food safety violations during an inspection.

The action followed an inspection conducted on Aug 7, during which FDA officials reportedly found a large cockroach infestation, food items stored directly on the floor, rusted storage racks and inadequate cleaning of cold storage facilities.

Officials also detected deficiencies in the FIFO/FEFO system, inadequate pest and rodent control measures, and shortcomings in waste management and overall sanitation.

Following the violations, food licence number 11524010000119 was suspended with immediate effect from Jul 27, 2026, until further orders.

The action was part of a special inspection campaign conducted by the Maharashtra FDA from Aug 7 to 9 against adulterated, substandard and non-compliant food products across the state. During the campaign, officials seized illegal and suspected non-compliant stocks worth crores of rupees and initiated action against several establishments.

In Beed district, the FDA acted against five edible oil production and repacking units after finding serious irregularities, including the use of used tins for filling edible oil, labelling violations and unhygienic conditions. Officials seized 1,19,187.5 kg of edible oil valued at around Rs 1.94 crore. Oil worth approximately Rs 1.05 crore was seized from Swagat Oil Industries alone. The FSSAI licences of all five establishments were suspended with immediate effect.

In Buldhana, the FDA acted on a consumer complaint regarding mould and live insects allegedly found in “Laxmi Narayan” brand cashew katli at a Reliance retail store in ARD Cinemall. Officials seized 54 cartons from another batch of the product, amounting to 11,340 kg and valued at Rs 10,238. Samples were sent to a laboratory for testing.

The FDA also seized 87,320 litres of packaged drinking water sold under the brand name “Oxyca”. The seized stock was estimated to be worth around Rs 8.73 lakh.

In Kolhapur, FDA officials conducted a surprise inspection at the Varad Jaggery manufacturing facility and found severe unhygienic conditions and suspected adulteration during the production process. Officials seized 450 kg of jaggery and 500 kg of white crystal sugar, totalling 950 kg of suspected stock valued at Rs 42,750.

The FDA said the special campaign was aimed at identifying food safety violations and preventing the manufacture, storage and sale of adulterated, substandard and non-compliant food products across Maharashtra.