India's food safety enforcement intensifies, with increased oversight of restaurants and quick commerce

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Food safety enforcement intensifies

Highlights

Since 25 May, the Maharashtra FDA has inspected more than 3,000 establishments, suspended/cancelled 165 licences and issued 750 improvement notices.
Twelve warehouse permits for Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, along with licences of major Mumbai clubs/restaurants, were suspended over hygiene violations; Domino’s, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s also came under scrutiny.
FSSAI is preparing to introduce prominent warning labels on packaged food, intensifying debate over consumer awareness, transparency and industry standards.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Scope of raids and regulatory focus

According to Forbes India, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has stepped up large-scale inspections in recent months across several areas, including Mumbai, with action extending to long-established eateries, clubs, quick commerce warehouses and chain outlets. According to Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, since taking charge on 25 May, the department has inspected more than 3,000 establishments, suspended or cancelled 165 licences, and issued more than 750 improvement notices.

In Mumbai, Poornima Restaurant’s licence was suspended in July, while the Cricket Club of India, Willingdon Sports Club, RK Juhu Gymkhana, Aparna Juhu Gymkhana and MIG Cricket Club have also faced action following hygiene violations. Twelve permits for warehouses operated by Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart were also suspended after deficiencies including pests, rodent droppings and spoiled food were found.

This trend is not limited to Maharashtra. In Delhi, JW Marriott and Andaz Aerocity received notices over issues related to food storage and expired sweets, while in Bengaluru, authorities seized or destroyed rotten meat, vegetables and used cooking oil from hotels and restaurants. Major names such as Domino’s, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s have also come under inspection, indicating that enforcement is now reaching both small and large food business operators alike.

Experts say India’s food supply chain has become far more complex than before. A meal or packaged product passes through farms, processors, cold chains, warehouses, cloud kitchens, delivery platforms and retail outlets, so regulators are now viewing food safety as a whole-chain issue rather than a matter of a single inspection.

Impact on industry, courts and consumers

The business impact of this stricter approach is direct, as licence suspensions halt sales, affect employees’ work, delay supplier payments and damage brand reputation. This is why the debate over balancing enforcement with due process is intensifying, especially as the Bombay High Court has questioned the justification for immediate closures in some cases.

Former FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal says licence suspensions and closures should be exceptions, while businesses should generally be given time to improve standards through improvement notices. According to him, safe food cannot be ensured through raids alone; it requires an everyday culture of hygiene, trained staff and basic systems.

On the consumer side, the debate is now extending to packaged food products. In August, FSSAI advanced work on a proposal under which prominent warning labels could be placed on the front of packs containing high levels of fat, sugar or salt, bringing labelling, nutrition claims and consumer understanding into the mainstream discussion.

According to Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General of the Advertising Standards Council of India, the real question is whether consumers can easily find and understand information. This perspective is important in a market where claims such as “healthy” and “natural” have become sales tools, while consumers are now demanding greater clarity and transparency.

Within the restaurant industry, there is also increasing emphasis on measures such as daily temperature checks, separate preparation stations, staff training, third-party audits and record-based compliance. At the same time, ideas such as public hygiene ratings, digital record-keeping and identifying repeat violations indicate that food safety may increasingly become not only a regulatory issue, but also a decisive factor in competition, consumer trust and market access.

Our previous report discussed Amazon Now’s quick commerce expansion in India and intensifying competition with Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Flipkart Minutes. The article highlighted the micro-fulfilment centre network, the “mesh network” model and plans to scale up by 2026—showing how rapidly minute-based delivery supply chains are becoming more complex and extensive.

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