Maharashtra suspends permits of 12 quick-commerce warehouses in hygiene crackdown

Maharashtra's food safety regulator has escalated its campaign against the quick-commerce sector, suspending the permits of 12 warehouses operated by major grocery delivery platforms. The action follows inspections that uncovered cockroach infestations, rodent droppings, and other unsanitary conditions at facilities run by Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy's Instamart.

The state's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it inspected 86 establishments and issued 60 improvement notices. Permits were suspended for five Blinkit warehouses, five Zepto facilities, and two Instamart sites.

At one Blinkit storage facility, inspectors found cockroach infestations and rotten vegetables. Other locations showed rodent droppings and unhygienic conditions. In a Zepto warehouse in Nashik, delivery staff were seen entering storage areas in street footwear, raising concerns about cross-contamination. Photographs released by the FDA showed rusted storage racks and cockroaches crawling near food items.

The crackdown is part of a broader push by the state's new food safety chief, Tukaram Mundhe, who has also shut several popular Mumbai eateries for poor hygiene. Earlier this week, four outlets of Domino's, India's largest fast-food chain, were closed by his department.

Mundhe warned of stricter action against unsafe food handling. "We will not tolerate any playing with public health," he said in the FDA statement.

Swiggy and Eternal, which operates Blinkit, declined to comment. Zepto did not respond to queries.

Industry data suggests the scale of operations involved: Swiggy and Zepto each run roughly 1,100 delivery outlets across India, while Blinkit operates about 2,200. The enforcement drive has drawn significant social media attention, as food safety standards have historically seen limited enforcement in India's vast food services industry.