The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has suspended the licences or registrations of 19 food establishments, including three Domino’s Pizza outlets in Mumbai, during a statewide enforcement drive targeting unsafe, substandard and mislabelled products. The department also reported cancelling 354 drug licences and suspending 1,227 others between April and September 2026.
Seventeen of the 19 food establishments facing suspension are in Mumbai. The city establishments include Domino’s outlets operated by Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. in Parel, Andheri East and Borivali West, as well as Carnival by Trèsind in Santacruz West, Hundo Pizza in Khar West and The Penang Table in Bandra West. Other affected businesses include hotels, restaurants, sweet shops and food establishments.
According to the FDA, inspections and re-inspections found cockroach and insect infestations, food packets damaged by rats, inadequate separation of raw and cooked food, spoiled food items, burnt or overused cooking oil and insufficient pest-control measures. Some establishments had also failed to correct deficiencies recorded in earlier improvement notices. The department did not identify which specific violations were found at each establishment.
The FDA imposed compounding penalties totalling ₹1.30 lakh on four establishments in Kandivali: Banarasi Hindu Hotel, Kavita Caterers, Atharva University Canteen and Zaika King Shawarma. The penalties followed inspections conducted as part of a festive-season enforcement drive.
In a separate action on October 13, officials seized 17,784 kg of edible oil valued at ₹39.15 lakh from Orgisattva Foods Pvt. Ltd. and Jyotirling Foods Pvt. Ltd., two repacking units in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Their licences were suspended with immediate effect after inspections identified food-safety and regulatory deficiencies.
The wider food-enforcement operation covered the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Greater Mumbai divisions. Officials acted against 24,406 kg of suspected substandard, unsafe or mislabelled food stock valued at ₹50.19 lakh. The seized or restricted material included sweets, wafers, chakli, bhagar and sabudana in Pune, food stock worth ₹2.64 lakh in Nashik and 978 kg of arecanut valued at ₹3.91 lakh in Nagpur.
The department also seized prohibited food products worth approximately ₹1.17 lakh, registered four First Information Reports and arrested four people during the statewide drive. In Mumbai, prohibited products worth ₹9,930 were seized from an establishment in Malad East on October 13. An FIR was registered at Malad police station against Ashok Bhadu Ahire under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Food Safety and Standards Act. The complaint also sought investigation under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
The FDA’s drug department separately recorded 4,723 inspections between April and September, including 1,085 at manufacturing establishments and 3,638 at sales establishments. It issued 1,681 notices, cancelled 354 licences, suspended 1,227 licences and conducted 123 search-and-seizure operations involving drug stock worth ₹20.23 crore. The department said 35 FIRs were registered and 15 people were arrested.
Enforcement increased substantially between June and September. The monthly average of inspections rose from approximately 234 in April and May to 1,064 during the following four months. Search-and-seizure operations increased from eight to 115, while FIR registrations rose from two to 33. During June to September, drug stock worth ₹19.11 crore was seized or restricted, compared with ₹1.12 crore in April and May.
Of the 115 operations conducted between June and September, 43 involved unlicensed drug storage or sales, 31 concerned objectionable advertisements under the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 14 involved counterfeit drugs and cosmetics, and 10 concerned misbranded cosmetics. Nine operations involved the alleged misuse of intoxicating drugs under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said protecting citizens’ health was the administration’s fundamental responsibility. He said the increase in inspections and enforcement reflected the department’s vigilance and added that inspections would be expanded across Maharashtra to prevent counterfeit, substandard and unlicensed medicines from entering the market. He said action against violators would continue in accordance with the law.
