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Maharashtra suspends 14 quick-commerce facility licences over hygiene
NDTV··15 Aug
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration suspended licences of 14 facilities linked to Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart after inspecting 86 quick-commerce establishments across the state. Inspectors found cockroach and lizard infestations, expired food and poor temperature control, with handlers lacking hygiene gear. Five Blinkit, five Zepto and two Instamart facilities had licences suspended, and 60 others received improvement notices.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you regularly order food or groceries through Blinkit, Zepto or Instamart, this inspection reveals real hygiene lapses at specific facilities in Mumbai and Pune that had handled products meant for you.
- Knowing which platforms had suspended facilities can help you decide whether to raise complaints or watch for FSSAI compliance the next time you place a quick-commerce order in Maharashtra.
- If you work in the quick-commerce delivery or warehouse sector, the notices highlight specific gaps, like missing medical checks and protective gear, that regulators expect employers to fix.
What's Happening
- Maharashtra's FDA suspended licences of 14 out of 86 inspected quick-commerce facilities linked to Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart, citing pest infestations and expired food.
- Specific violations included a cockroach infestation and damaged flooring at a Blinkit facility in Ghatkopar, and expired chicken stored above the required temperature at an Instamart facility in Andheri.
- The FDA issued 60 improvement notices separately and also raided Bollywood Cafe in Film City, finding a fly infestation and food prepared on rusted surfaces.
Adaptive Context
- FSSAI licence suspensions typically require facilities to correct violations and pass a re-inspection before resuming operations, rather than being permanent closures.
- Quick-commerce platforms have expanded delivery networks rapidly across Indian cities in recent years, and this inspection drive is among the largest coordinated hygiene checks targeting the sector in Maharashtra.
- FIFO and FEFO stock rotation practices, meant to prevent expired food from reaching customers, were found lacking at the Zepto facility in Pune's Lohegaon, per FDA inspectors.
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