Tukaram Mundhe-led Maharashtra Food and Drug administration has suspended licenses of seven food establishments in Mumbai, NDTV reported. Some of the major eateries include Ottoman Cafe and Bharat Canteen in Andheri West, Chacha Eagle Kulfi Falooda in Jogeshwari, and Mumbai Darbar Family Restaurant in Lower Parel.
The licenses were suspended following serious hygiene failures such as unclean kitchens, mixed storage of veg/non-veg food, unauthorized colours, and a lack of worker medical certificates.
Authorities took action against the possession of prohibited food items. Stock worth Rs 4.22 lakh were seized in Mumbai, and Rs 19.56 lakh in Pune. The regulator's crackdown extended across multiple divisions.
Massive milk raids were conducted in dairies across Govandi, Mankhurd, Dharavi, Mahim, and Antop Hill. Around of 564 litres of substandard milk was destroyed on the spot. Industrial-scale food operations were also raided in Navi Mumbai's MIDC area. Suspected substandard items were also seized at M/s. Unisha Enterprises in MIDC Mahape and M/s. Hindustan Masala Mill in MIDC Shirwane, Nerul.
Prior to this, FDA suspended the food business licence of Blinkit, operated by M/s Blink Commerce Private Limited at its Bhiwandi facility over alleged regulatory violations involving expired, damaged and rejected food products worth more than Rs 32.71 lakh, NDTV reported.
An inspection conducted on October 21 found that the company could not provide end-to-end traceability or proof of destruction for approximately 18,405 food items classified as expired, damaged or rejected.
The FDA ordered the immediate cessation of licensed operations at the premises, citing a potential threat to public health. The concern was that the unaccounted inventory, which was no longer fit for sale, could be diverted and sold to consumers.
After the licence suspension, the regulator registered a First Information Report (FIR) at Bhiwandi Taluka Police Station against key Blinkit personnel, including a whole-time director and facility managers, as well as multiple vendors involved in scrap disposal. The accused were booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including those relating to cheating and criminal conspiracy, along with Section 59(i) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
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