The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the licences or registrations of 19 food establishments, including three Domino’s Pizza outlets in Mumbai, and seized or restricted suspected substandard, unsafe and mislabelled food stock worth ₹50.19 lakh during a recent enforcement drive across the State.
Seventeen of the establishments facing suspension are located in Mumbai, while two are edible oil repacking units in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The Mumbai establishments include Domino’s outlets operated by Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. in Parel, Andheri East and Borivali West, along with Carnival by Trèsind in Santacruz West, Hundo Pizza in Khar West, The Penang Table in Bandra West and other hotels, restaurants, sweet shops and food businesses.
According to the FDA, inspections and re-inspections found deficiencies including cockroach and insect infestations, food packets gnawed by rats, improper storage of raw and cooked food, spoiled food items, burnt or overused cooking oil, inadequate pest control and failure to maintain mandatory food safety records. Some establishments had not rectified deficiencies identified in earlier improvement notices. The department did not specify which violation was recorded at each establishment.
The FDA also 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 inspections were conducted as part of a festive-season enforcement drive, when demand for prepared food and packaged products typically rises.
In a separate action on October 13, officials seized 17,784 kg of edible oil worth ₹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. Across the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Greater Mumbai divisions, officials acted against 24,406 kg of suspected substandard, unsafe and mislabelled food stock valued at ₹50.19 lakh.
The Pune division accounted for action against sweets, wafers, chakli, bhagar and sabudana stock worth ₹4.46 lakh, while food stock worth ₹2.64 lakh was targeted in Nashik. In Nagpur, officials acted against 978 kg of arecanut stock valued at ₹3.91 lakh on suspicion that it was substandard and unsafe. The FDA also seized prohibited food products worth approximately ₹1.17 lakh, registered four FIRs and arrested four people during the statewide drive.
In Mumbai, prohibited food products worth ₹9,930 were seized from an establishment in Malad East on October 13. The FDA registered an FIR at Malad police station against Ashok Bhadu Ahire under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Food Safety and Standards Act. The complaint also sought an investigation under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
The department’s drug wing separately reported a sharp increase in enforcement between April and September 2026. It conducted 4,723 inspections, including 1,085 at manufacturing establishments and 3,638 at sales establishments. The department issued 1,681 notices, cancelled 354 drug licences, suspended 1,227 and seized or restricted drug stock worth ₹20.23 crore through 123 search-and-seizure operations. Thirty-five FIRs were registered and 15 people were arrested.
Enforcement activity increased substantially between June and September. The monthly average number of inspections rose from approximately 234 in April and May to 1,064 during the subsequent four months. Search-and-seizure operations increased from eight to 115, while FIR registrations rose from two to 33. The FDA said ₹19.11 crore worth of drug stock was seized or restricted between June and September, compared with ₹1.12 crore during April and May.
Of the 115 operations conducted during the four-month period, 43 involved unlicensed drug storage and sales, 31 concerned objectionable advertisements under the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 14 involved counterfeit drugs and cosmetics, and 10 involved misbranded cosmetics. Nine operations concerned the 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. The department said action against violators would continue in accordance with the law.
