Maharashtra FDA suspends food licence of Blinkit dark store in Pune

Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food licence of quick commerce platform Blinkit in Pune’s Balewadi area for non-compliance with regulations.

The suspension comes after authorities stepped up surveillance of dark stores amid concerns about food safety and hygiene in these facilities.

The Maharashtra FDA conducted an investigation on June 5 and found that the facility did not have a licence from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for the production, distribution, or sale of food items.

Following this, the facility’s food business licence was suspended until the required licence under Section 31 (1) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, is obtained.

Despite the lack of a licence, the Blinkit facility, operated by M/s Energy Darkstore Services near Mitcon College in Balewadi, was storing and selling food items.

In the same order, authorities noted that the facility had also violated food safety measures. They found food items on the floor, the pest control audit certificate missing, workers in the food area not wearing protective caps, food items stored on dusty racks, and a cold storage unit without a calibration certificate.

Last week, a similar probe was conducted at quick commerce platform Zepto’s Dharavi facility, and its food business licence was suspended after it was found to be in violation of food safety guidelines. The violations included fungal growth on food articles, food storage near stagnant water, cold storage temperature not being maintained, and expired food items unsegregated from the main stock, as per a press note by the FDA.