Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the permits of 12 warehouses belonging to major grocery delivery firms following inspections that found hygiene violations. The state agency reported finding cockroach infestations, rodent droppings, and rotten vegetables at facilities operated by Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy’s Instamart. In a statement released Friday, food safety chief Tukaram Mundhe stated that the agency will not tolerate actions that compromise public health.
The enforcement action follows a broader inspection initiative led by Mundhe, who recently took over as the state's food safety head. Historically, the Indian food sector has seen limited enforcement of safety standards despite common reports of contamination. Prior to the warehouse suspensions, the department shut down several popular Mumbai eateries and four Domino’s outlets earlier this week, citing lapses in hygiene protocols.
Official data from the state FDA indicated that inspectors visited 86 establishments. The resulting actions included five permit suspensions for Blinkit, five for Zepto, and two for Swiggy. At a Zepto warehouse in Nashik, inspectors reported that delivery staff were entering food storage areas wearing street footwear, which officials identified as a cross-contamination risk. While Swiggy and Eternal (Blinkit's parent company) declined to comment, Zepto did not respond to requests for a statement.
The scale of the industry is substantial, with Blinkit operating 2,200 delivery outlets, while Swiggy and Zepto operate roughly 1,100 each. The suspension of these 12 permits represents a concentrated regulatory action against a sector that has historically operated with less scrutiny while attracting billions of dollars in foreign investment. For a typical household in Mumbai or Nashik, the immediate impact may be a temporary inability to order from specific local warehouses until hygiene standards are met and licenses are reinstated.
Beyond the immediate shutdowns, this action sets a precedent for stricter regulatory oversight of fast-food and grocery infrastructure in India’s second-most populous state. The FDA issued 60 "improvement notices" during this round of inspections, suggesting that dozens of other facilities must upgrade their storage and handling practices to avoid future closures. What happens next depends on the companies' ability to satisfy the FDA's requirements for pest control and sanitation; a Reuters photographer observed cleaning crews already active at one Blinkit store on Saturday. No specific date for the reinstatement of the 12 suspended licenses has been reported.