Maharashtra FDA Suspends Licences of Reliance Retail, Blinkit Units in Chakan and Nighoje; Rs 5 Crore Expired Food Found in State-Wide Drive
Maharashtra FDA has suspended licences of Reliance Retail and Blinkit units in Pune district and warehouses in Bhiwandi over unaccounted expired food.
Photo: Adamhallgmbh / CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
Pune, 31st October 2026: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food licences of several large warehouses, including a Reliance Retail unit in Chakan and a Blinkit unit in Nighoje in Pune district, during a month-long drive against expired food. The FDA said the aim was to stop expired, spoiled or rejected stock from slipping back into the market in the name of “disposal”.
In a release issued on Friday, the FDA said six licences were suspended with immediate effect, suspension orders were issued against two more establishments, and two FIRs were registered. Stock worth about Rs 5 crore was covered across all the places inspected.
What the FDA was looking for
The drive did not only check for expired food on shelves. Inspectors asked companies to prove what happened to expired and rejected stock after it left their premises, with records of transport, receipt and final destruction. In the FDA’s words, simply claiming that stock was handed to a disposal vendor “is not sufficient”.
The agency also said that missing paperwork, on its own, does not prove that food was resold, and that any criminal liability will be decided through investigation and the courts. It described the suspensions as preventive action.
Units in Pune district
In Pune district, the FDA suspended the licences of Reliance Retail Ltd at Chakan and Blinkit’s unit at Nighoje. Stock worth Rs 6.49 lakh was recorded across these two sites together. Both are in the Chakan industrial belt, which has many warehouses supplying quick-commerce orders in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune city.
Bigger cases in Bhiwandi and Navi Mumbai
Most of the action was in the Bhiwandi warehouse hub near Mumbai:
- Blink Commerce at Pagaon: about 18,405 expired and spoiled items worth Rs 32.72 lakh; licence suspended on 22 October and an FIR filed on 23 October.
- Zomato Hyperpure at Usatane, Ambernath: about 9,590 kg of spoiled, expired or rejected goods worth Rs 7.81 lakh, plus hygiene and cold-chain lapses; licence suspended on 15 October.
- Cloudstore Retail near Padgha toll naka: 7,566 items worth Rs 6.88 lakh; licence suspended and FIR filed on 26 October.
- Two Reliance warehouses at Wadpe: licences suspended on 15 October over incomplete disposal records.
The largest seizure was at Sawla Foods and Cold Storage in Turbhe, Navi Mumbai, where about 91,353 kg of food worth around Rs 4.13 crore was seized. About 17,144 kg of it was found to be expired.
How to protect yourself
With Diwali shopping at its peak, check the “best before” date on every packet you get, including from quick-delivery apps. Refuse or return items that are past date, damaged or leaking, and keep the invoice. Complaints can be made to the FDA’s toll-free helpline 1800-222-365 or through the FSSAI’s Food Safety Connect app.
Earlier this month the FDA also cracked down on sweets and dry fruits in Pune; read our report on FDA dry fruit seizures before Diwali and our guide to Diwali shopping in Pune markets.
The companies named had not issued public statements on the action at the time of writing. We will update this article if they do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Maharashtra FDA suspend Reliance Retail and Blinkit licences?
Units could not show complete records of how expired, spoiled or rejected food was transported and destroyed, as part of an October drive to stop such stock re-entering the market.
Which Pune district units were affected?
Reliance Retail Ltd at Chakan and Blinkit’s unit at Nighoje, both in Pune district.
How much expired food did the FDA find?
Stock worth about Rs 5 crore was covered across all establishments, including about Rs 4.13 crore seized at a cold store in Turbhe, Navi Mumbai.
How do I complain about expired food in Maharashtra?
You can call the FDA helpline 1800-222-365 or use FSSAI’s Food Safety Connect app. Keep the invoice and the packet as proof.
