Maharashtra FDA suspends licences of two online food delivery facilities
The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has suspended the licenses of two Blinkit facilities due to severe food safety violations, including cold-chain failures and unhygienic conditions. Inspectors also discovered the illegal sale of tobacco products and poor storage practices at these retail sites.
Why it matters
This highlights growing regulatory scrutiny over the rapid expansion of quick-commerce platforms and the potential public health risks associated with their storage and delivery infrastructure.
Maharashtra‘s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended the licences of two Blinkit facilities in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) after inspections found alleged cold-chain failures, expired food, poor hygiene and inadequate traceability records, among other food-safety violations. Earlier, a Zepto facility in Mumbai’s Chembur was also suspended.
The action comes amid the FDA’s crackdown against online food-storage and delivery facilities in the State.
At the High Court Colony facility in Satara, FDA inspectors Varsha Rode and Kirtika Jhade found cigarettes of brands including Wills, Classic and Marlboro being sold along with the food storage and online deliveries. According to the FDA, the sale of tobacco products from the food retail premises was prohibited.
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