Pune : Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration has launched a major crackdown on food businesses after a statewide inspection drive uncovered serious hygiene. The FDA inspected 86 establishments linked to online food delivery platforms on August 13, suspending 14 food business licences with immediate effect. Five licences were linked to Blinkit, five to Zepto, two to Instamart, while one each belonged to Bhagwati Store and Swinsta ENT Pvt Ltd.
Alongside the licence suspensions, the FDA issued 60 improvement notices and ordered one establishment to immediately halt business operations. The inspections examined storage conditions, temperature control, cleanliness, pest control, hygiene of food handlers, FIFO and FEFO practices, food safety records and the display of FSSAI licences.
At a Zepto facility in Pune’s Lohegaon area, inspectors found food products stored beyond their declared “Use By” dates. The facility also failed to follow FIFO and FEFO practices and had unhygienic storage, inadequate pest control and serious personal hygiene deficiencies. A Blinkit facility in Malad West was found operating with a chiller-room temperature of 6 degrees Celsius, above the prescribed level.
Inspectors further flagged disorganised storage, damaged and rusted racks, inadequate segregation of vegetarian, non-vegetarian, cooked and dairy products, along with shortcomings in training and food safety supervision. At another Blinkit facility in Ghatkopar, inspectors found inadequate drainage and waste-disposal arrangements, poor temperature control for frozen products and unprotected lighting fixtures in an unpacked-food storage area.
At Zepto’s Mulund facility, inspectors reported inadequate waste disposal, temperature-control failures, lighting problems, poor cleanliness and inadequate separate storage facilities. The FSSAI licence was also not prominently displayed. A reinspection of Zepto’s Gola Unit in Goregaon also found deficiencies in temperature control, lighting, food storage, personal hygiene facilities and cleanliness.
Read Also : Andhra Pradesh Police SI Scales Mount Elbrus With 100 Metre Tricolour