Bhiwandi, October 24 — The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food business licence of Blinkit's warehouse in Bhiwandi, in Thane district, and ordered an immediate halt to its licensed operations after serious irregularities involving expired and rejected food products came to light, DCN News reported.

Source: DCN News

The action followed an inspection on October 21, during which FDA officials found that the facility could not provide proper disposal records for approximately 18,405 expired, damaged and rejected food items valued at over Rs 32.71 lakh (yaani Rs 32.71 lakh — about thirty-two lakh seventy-one thousand rupees). Inshorts, summarising NDTV Profit reporting, carried the same figures — 18,405 items worth over Rs 32.71 lakh — and the same licence suspension.

Source: Inshorts / NDTV Profit

FDA officials said the company could not establish whether the products marked for destruction had actually been disposed of safely. The absence of proper records and end-to-end traceability raised the suspicion — an allegation that remains under investigation — that expired food products could have been diverted back into the market and sold to unsuspecting consumers. Authorities warned that such practices could pose a serious threat to public health.

Following the inspection, the FDA registered an FIR at Bhiwandi Taluka Police Station against key Blinkit personnel, including a whole-time director and warehouse managers, along with several scrap disposal vendors. They have been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 relating to cheating and criminal conspiracy, as well as Section 59(i) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, reports said.

The action forms part of a wider FDA investigation into the handling and disposal of expired food products at warehouses, dark stores and scrap disposal facilities across Maharashtra. No court finding has been made, and the allegations against the named personnel are yet to be proved.