Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration suspended operating licences covering two food outlets — Zepto's Bhandup warehouse and the Brijwasi location in Malad West — after on-ground inspections at each site uncovered regulatory violations. The warehouse fell short of required hygiene and sanitation standards, while the Malad West outlet presented conditions the FDA assessed as a risk to public health.

Figures released in an FDA press note on Monday show the festive-season enforcement drive extended statewide, yielding the recovery of prohibited food items valued at Rs 1.44 crore, the lodging of 10 FIRs, and the detention of six individuals. Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe disclosed the action, framing it within a broader push by the department to address food safety violations across the state.

Zepto Limited's Bhandup facility in Mumbai lost its food operating licence with effect from 9 October 2026, after inspectors visiting the premises documented breaches of hygiene and sanitation standards. Authorities invoked both the Food Safety and Standards Act and the licensing rules that apply to food businesses as the basis for their intervention.

Regulatory inspectors from the FDA visited Zepto Limited — a company that has operated under the earlier names Zepto Private Limited and Kiranakart Technologies Private Limited — at its ground-floor units GE1 and GE1A within Gopal Estate on Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, Bhandup, with that visit taking place on 7 October. Auditors found that the establishment had fallen short of the hygiene and sanitary standards laid out under Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.

Licence number 11524013000117, held by the establishment under FSSAI registration, was placed under an immediate suspension order dated 9 October, pursuant to the authority conferred by Section 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, as read alongside Regulation 2.1.8.4. No hygiene or sanitation shortcomings identified at the facility were detailed in the agency's October 12 press release.

Regulators carrying out a statewide festive-season sweep visited the Malad West outlet trading as Brijwasi — a premises run by Ms Krishnam Retails LLP — with the inspection taking place on 9 October. Auditors carrying out the review found conditions that posed a threat to community wellbeing. Regulatory action taken under Sections 32(1) and 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, brought the food establishment's operations to a halt on October 10, with authorities placing licence number 11526010000059 on immediate suspension. No specific deficiencies found at the premises were named anywhere in the agency's published statement.

Gutkha, pan masala, and scented tobacco — all prohibited products — were recovered by the Food and Drug Administration from a truck moving through Palghar district on 9 October, with the confiscated goods carrying a combined value of Rs 1.30 crore; once the vehicle itself was factored in, the total worth of everything taken into custody reached Rs 1.51 crore.

Palghar Division-1 personnel, acting on a tip-off, stopped and examined an Eicher closed-body vehicle — registered as MH 48 CB 4605 — at a point along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway close to Hotel Manor Gate, within the Wade Khadkuna locality that falls under Manor Police Station's jurisdiction. Authorities placed the combined worth of the confiscated goods at Rs 1,30,86,000, with the vehicle adding a further Rs 20 lakh to that figure, putting the overall haul at Rs 1,50,86,000.

Police at Manor Station filed a case naming the driver, cleaner, and six additional individuals as accused parties, with charges drawn from Sections 123, 223, 274, 275, and 35 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita alongside Sections 26(2)(i), 26(2)(iv), 27(3)(e), and 30(2)(a) read with Section 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Lodged under reference number FIR 0208/2026, the complaint was formally recorded on 9 October.

Food products carrying a ban were confiscated by FDA officers during a Nashik division sweep on 11 October, with the total value of the haul placed at Rs 11,39,600. Authorities also confiscated a vehicle worth around Rs 8 lakh, pushing the overall haul to Rs 19,39,600. Authorities logged a formal complaint, opened a related case, and took one individual into custody.

Goods valued at Rs 27,049 that had been prohibited from sale were recovered by authorities conducting an inspection across the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division on 10 October. Authorities also confiscated a vehicle worth around Rs 50,000, pushing the overall haul to Rs 77,049. A case was filed and two individuals taken into custody.

Checks at two Nagpur division premises on 10 and 11 October turned up prohibited goods valued at Rs 1,72,113. Police lodged two formal complaints and took three individuals into custody.

Regulatory inspections of milk and milk-product manufacturing and storage premises across Taloja, in Raigad district, carried out over two days on 8 and 9 October, resulted in the suspension of licences or registrations at three establishments, with enforcement measures applied to goods valued collectively at Rs 3,88,740.

Inspectors visiting Ms Sawariya Milk and Milk Products discovered that dairy stock on the premises was being kept without any licence or registration in place. No documentation of purchases or sales — nor any supporting financial records — was forthcoming from the business when requested. Drainage for wastewater was absent from the site, which also fell short of acceptable hygiene standards. According to the FDA, roughly 68 food business operators received milk deliveries from that establishment each day.

Regulators held reservations about the source of the buffalo milk, with concerns that it had been adulterated by blending in skimmed milk. Authorities disposed of 5,394 litres of milk at the location, with the stock assessed at a value of Rs 2,76,864, and placed the venue's operating licence on immediate hold.

Inspectors discovered a lizard inside the paneer preparation area at Ms Maheshwari Foods. Inspectors found no wastewater drainage infrastructure on the property, and accounts described the site as unsanitary with an unpleasant odour. Records of both purchases and sales were not accessible. Inspectors from the food safety authority condemned 119 kg of low-fat paneer — carrying a market value of Rs 30,340 — at the premises, and the outlet's food licence was placed under immediate suspension.

Laboratory analysis of Ms Royal Foods' curd product returned figures that did not align with the nutritional values printed on the packaging. Inspectors further determined that no valid manufacturing licence was held by the premises, and that breaches of the hygiene requirements set out under Schedule 4 had taken place. Regulators seized approximately 1,019 kg of curd — carrying a declared worth of Rs 81,536 — and stripped the outlet of its food licence on the spot. The matter remains before the courts, with additional proceedings still to come.

Across two consecutive days — 10 and 11 October — food safety inspectors operating within the Pune division confiscated nearly 96,752 kg of edible oil, a stock put at a worth of Rs 21,94,797. Among the premises where inspectors uncovered the goods were Ms Bansal Trading Company at Market Yard, Gultekdi, Pune, holding 1,061 kg valued at Rs 6,38,500; Ms Sanket Traders on Waghdari Road, Akkalkot, in Solapur district, with 7,968 kg worth Rs 1,23,004; Ms Snehal Oil Mill within MIDC Mangalwedha, also in Solapur district, carrying 884 kg assessed at Rs 1,85,640; Ms Rameshlal and Sons at Market Yard, Gultekdi, Pune, where 2,109 kg amounting to Rs 6,73,219 was recovered; Ms Tulsi Agency at the Industrial Estate, Tasgaon, in Sangli district, accounting for 4,540 kg priced at Rs 7,71,817; and Ms Mahesh Trading Company at Somwar Peth, Miraj, in Sangli district, from which 2,844 kg valued at Rs 63,200 was seized.

Inspectors acting under FDA authority confiscated roughly 2,065 kg of Kohinoor-brand jaggery — carrying an assessed worth of Rs 1,73,920 — from two Shendi premises in Ahilyanagar district, namely Ms Pyarelal Popatlal Bhalgat and Ms Gugale Cold Storage, with the action carried out on 10 October. Authorities held that the batch of jaggery fell below acceptable quality standards and contained adulterants. The inspection also turned up an absence of both production and expiry date information on the packaging labels.

Inspections carried out by the FDA across hotel and dhaba premises in the Pune division spanned two consecutive days, October 9 and 10, covering seven establishments in total. Hygiene breaches under Schedule 4 were recorded at three outlets: Ms Punjabi Dhaba, run by Vijay Pal Singh at Shop Nos. 6, 7, and 8 on the ground floor of Patil Estate along Wagholi Road in Lohegaon, Pune; Ms Khane-Khas, located at Survey No. 125 within Kausar Baug, positioned near Cafe Bun Maska in Kondhwa Khurd, Pune; and Ms Hotel Sonai, situated in the vicinity of Sonai Garden at Uruli Devachi, Pune.

Closure notices were issued on 10 October to four food outlets found to be trading without the required licence or registration — Ms Garden Vadapav Centre on Boti Street in Camp, Pune; Ms Balaji South Indian Food on Ganga Ashiyana Road in Thergaon, Pimpri-Chinchwad; Ms Engineer Vadewale and Thali in Rahatani, Pimpri-Chinchwad; and Ms GK Hotel Pure Veg, also in Rahatani, Pimpri-Chinchwad.

People with concerns about food quality or improper practices are encouraged to contact the FDA by dialling its toll-free line at 1800 222 2365 or by submitting a complaint through the department's online portal at https://complaints.mahafda.in.