Maharashtra FDA acts against Reliance, Blinkit warehouses over food safety lapses

MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has intensified its scrutiny of food storage and distribution centres, cancelling the licence of a Reliance Retail warehouse in Chakan and suspending operations at a Blinkit-linked facility in Nighoje after inspections revealed multiple safety lapses.

The enforcement drive, led by FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, has also extended to warehouses associated with Reliance Consumer Products, Reliance Retail and Zomato Hyperpure in Pune and Thane districts. The regulator is investigating suspicions that expired, damaged and rejected food items marked for destruction may have found their way back into the market.

As part of the wider operation, the FDA seized 8,392 kg of stock valued at Rs 48.08 lakh, suspended five warehouse licences and ordered two unlicensed establishments to stop operating.

An inspection of Reliance Retail’s Chakan warehouse in Pune district on 14 October uncovered extensive rodent activity, cockroaches in floor crevices and employees spitting inside the premises, according to findings reported by Press Trust of India (PTI).

Officials also found that expired and spoiled food products had not been separated from other stock. The facility failed to provide verifiable proof that expired goods had been disposed of, despite presenting an agreement with a waste disposal agency.

The FDA cancelled the warehouse’s licence on 15 October. Police subsequently registered a first information report (FIR) at North Mahaluge MIDC police station.

A separate inspection on 14 October at a warehouse operated by Linkit Commerce Pvt Ltd in Nighoje, also in Khed taluka, raised concerns over food storage conditions and employee training.

The FDA found leaking food packets and cockroach infestation. Its officials also recorded a cold-room temperature above 5 degrees Celsius, while the facility could not produce records establishing that the required storage conditions had been maintained.

Storage practices drew further scrutiny, with raw and other food products kept together. Officials found 50 kg of Tata Salt and 60 kg of semolina placed directly on the floor.

Training records were another concern. Only five of the facility’s approximately 600 employees had completed the Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) programme, according to the report.

The FDA suspended the facility’s licence on 15 October. An FIR was registered at South Mahaluge MIDC police station.

The action against the two warehouses comes amid a broader investigation into the handling of food products deemed unfit for sale or marked for destruction. The FDA has examined facilities linked to major retail and food distribution businesses across Pune and Thane as part of the exercise.

The regulator’s concern is whether expired, damaged or rejected stock entrusted to disposal agencies was diverted through intermediaries or unauthorised premises and subsequently channelled back into the supply chain.

The latest action adds to the FDA’s enforcement measures under Mundhe, which have focused on compliance with food safety requirements across warehouses and other facilities handling food products.