FDA suspends 43 food business licences across Maharashtra during Diwali inspections

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended 43 food business licences after inspecting 73 establishments across the state during a special Diwali enforcement drive.

The FDA said in a statement on Saturday that it conducted the inspections on November 6-7 across the state's seven divisions -- Greater Mumbai, Konkan, Nashik, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nagpur and Amravati.

The action covered establishments dealing in sweets, 'khoya' (milk solids), paneer, farsan (savoury snacks), Diwali snacks, dry fruits and edible oil, besides hotels, clubs, canteens, grocery stores, e-commerce entities and caterers.


The FDA seized 17,824 kg of food articles valued at Rs 63.09 lakh from 29 establishments during the drive. Perishable food articles considered hazardous to public health were destroyed on the spot in the presence of witnesses, the statement said.

In all, 43 food business licences were suspended, it said.

The division-wise breakdown showed that Nagpur accounted for the highest number of licence suspensions at 18, followed by Nashik with nine. Greater Mumbai reported five suspensions, while Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar recorded three each. Amravati reported three suspensions and Konkan two.

The inspections found violations of food safety requirements, including unhygienic production and storage conditions, absence of wire mesh on windows, inadequate pest control and failure to maintain food safety management system records. Establishments also failed to produce water analysis reports, medical certificates of food handlers and purchase bills, it said.

Among the establishments facing action was Blink Commerce Pvt Ltd, which operates the quick-commerce platform Blinkit, in Wardha, the statement said. Its licence was suspended during the drive.

The Orient Club in Mumbai and several sweet shops and food establishments in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Pune and Nagpur were also among those facing licence suspensions.

The FDA also seized 3,935 kg of khoya and sweets from two vehicles transporting food articles on highways.

In a separate enforcement action, the department recovered penalties totalling Rs 70,000 in five cases registered under the Food Safety and Standards Act at Mumbai's Borivali and Bhandup for violations of food safety regulations, the statement said.

The department also drew 10 food samples for analysis during the inspections, it added.