The Pune Food and Drug Administration has suspended the licences of warehouses operated by Reliance Retail and Blinkit after inspections found expired and damaged food products, poor hygiene conditions and inadequate records showing that rejected stock had been destroyed.
The action followed a drive conducted on October 14 and 15 across Pune and Thane districts. The FDA deployed seven teams, including two teams for Pune district. The licences of a Reliance Retail warehouse in Chakan and a Blinkit Commerce Private Limited warehouse in Nighoje were suspended with immediate effect, according to information issued by the department.
At the Chakan facility, FDA inspectors found expired and damaged products stored together with other goods. The inspection also recorded rodent droppings, cockroach infestation and instances of employees spitting within the premises. The department said the warehouse had submitted an agreement with a disposal contractor, but inspectors could not verify evidence that the products had actually been disposed of.
The inspection was conducted amid concerns that expired, damaged or rejected food products meant for destruction could instead be returned to the market. The FDA’s action was linked specifically to the absence of verifiable disposal records at the inspected facility. The department did not state in the supplied report that it had confirmed the sale of the products to consumers.
At Blinkit’s Nighoje warehouse, the cold-storage temperature was found to be above five degrees Celsius, while cold-chain records were unavailable. Inspectors also found 50 kilograms of Tata Salt and 60 kilograms of semolina stored directly on the floor. Leaking packets and cockroach infestation were reported at the facility.
The FDA further said that only five of approximately 600 employees at the Blinkit warehouse had certificates showing completion of food-safety training. The absence of disposal evidence for expired stock was cited as the reason for suspending the warehouse’s licence.
The findings place attention on the systems used by large retail and quick-commerce operators to segregate, record and destroy food products that cannot be sold. For consumers, the issue extends beyond the condition of a particular warehouse: storage temperature, pest control, stock rotation, staff training and disposal documentation are all part of the chain that determines whether food remains safe between procurement and delivery.
The suspensions are the immediate regulatory outcome reported by the FDA. The supplied statement does not specify the duration of the suspensions, the value or quantity of all products covered by the inspections, or the next compliance steps required from the two companies. Further action will depend on the department’s regulatory process and the operators’ response to the inspection findings.
