Mumbai: The licence of M/s Parle Agro was suspended by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after finding expired stocks of Frooti, Appy and Apple Fizz at its Chembur godown.
Stocks worth Rs 99,970 were seized from the Velocity Express Warehouse near Chembur Naka, as reported by Hindustan Times.
The agency has cracked down on restaurants, hotels, dhabas, bakeries, online food platforms and other food businesses under its commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, who took over as the Maharashtra FDA chief in May, 2025.
As of August 13, it had inspected 109 hotels, restaurants and dhabas, issuing 49 improvement notices and suspended four food-business licences. It had, a few days ago, also found dirty cooking utensils, significant fly infestation, wastewater and food residue in the kitchen at Bollywood Cafe in Film City, Goregaon East.
During its special inspection drive targeting quick-commerce food delivery outlets across Mumbai, the FDA found several hygiene lapses. These included cockroaches crawling through food storage areas, expired chicken lying in refrigerators, rotten vegetables, rodent droppings and food packets kept directly on dirty floors.
On Friday, the agency suspended the licences of 10 food delivery chains, including Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart. The action followed inspections of 86 outlets on Thursday. Of these, 60 were served improvement notices, 14 had their licences suspended, while one outlet was ordered to stop business operations immediately.
During the inspections, officials found cockroaches moving through the storage area, along with rodent and pest droppings near food packets, at an Instamart facility. Dust, cobwebs and food waste were also found across the warehouse, with the facility also lacking adequate pest-proofing. It had an ant infestation, rusted racks, chipped flooring and poor housekeeping.
Another Instamart facility in Andheri West was found storing curry-cut chicken that had expired on August 12.
The Maharashtra FDA also issued show-cause notices to Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff recently for their participation as brand endorsers in an advertisement for Vimal Elaichi, allegedly a tobacco product.
Under these notices, the actors have a period of 15 days from the date of receipt to submit a written explanation.
The campaign could be a surrogate or indirect promotion of prohibited pan masala/tobacco-related products, the agency has said. It has warned that if no explanation is received, or if it is found to be unsatisfactory, further action may be initiated under applicable law.
