Maharashtra FDA Suspends Blinkit Facility Licence Following Hygiene Violations

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food licence of Blink Commerce Private Limited, the entity operating Blinkit, for its dark store in Malad West. The suspension follows an August 7 inspection that revealed severe hygiene violations, including a large scale cockroach infestation, expired and tampered food products, and the use of rusted racks for storage. The FDA has barred the facility from selling or distributing food until further orders, though the action is limited to this specific location and does not suspend Blinkit's overall operations.

In a separate enforcement action on August 8, the FDA inspected a Reliance Retail outlet at ARD Cinemall in Buldhana following a customer complaint regarding live larvae in Lakshmi Narayan brand kaju katli. While the specific batch mentioned in the complaint was not found, officials seized 11.34 kg of kaju katli from a related batch for laboratory analysis. Additionally, the FDA reported confiscating nearly 14,378 kg or litres of dairy products worth Rs 93.26 lakh as part of a drive against milk and dairy adulteration.

Concurrent legal proceedings involve Amazon Retail India and the Bombay High Court. The court directed Amazon to hand over expired and perished goods from its Bhiwandi based facility to the FDA for scientific disposal. This follows a dispute where the FDA suspended the warehouse licence over allegations that expired food was sent to the retail market instead of being destroyed.