Maharashtra FDA suspends 105 food licences before Diwali, Biryani By Kilo hit

Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended 105 food business licences and ordered seven establishments to shut after a two-day inspection drive on 4 and 5 November, ahead of Diwali on Sunday. The FDA announced the action on Friday, 6 November. Outlets of the biryani chain Biryani By Kilo and stores linked to quick-delivery apps Blinkit and Zepto were among those hit, NDTV and other Indian outlets reported.

“Suspended” was one of the top Google searches in India overnight, as people checked whether their local sweet shop or delivery app was on the list.

What did inspectors find?

According to the FDA’s statement, the problems were basic ones: food made and stored in dirty conditions, poor handling, no pest control and no proper cold storage. Inspectors seized about 39.5 tonnes of food worth around Rs1.35 crore from more than 70 places, with the biggest haul, worth about Rs49 lakh, in the Pune division. They also seized banned gutka and pan masala worth nearly Rs8 lakh. Three FIRs were registered and two people arrested.

Which businesses were named?

• Closed: Rajdhani Biryani Centre in Borivali, Mumbai, and Aaradhana Dryfruit Sweets in Bhiwandi were among those ordered to shut.
• Licences suspended: Biryani By Kilo, Tossin Pizza in Worli and Jumbo Burger, NDTV reported, along with outlets linked to Blinkit and Zepto.
• D-Mart: one report said refined soybean oil was seized from a D-Mart outlet in Nagpur for breaking licence conditions. We could not confirm this in the FDA’s own statement.

The chains named have not publicly responded. A suspended business cannot sell food until the suspension ends or is lifted after fixes.

A bigger festival crackdown

The two-day drive is part of a longer festive-season push. A separate FDA update reported by UNI said that between 1 September and 3 November the department suspended 954 licences and registrations across Maharashtra and seized food worth Rs63.45 crore. Sweets, khoa, ghee and edible oil are the usual targets because demand, and the temptation to adulterate, peaks before Diwali.

Why it matters in Pakistan

The same problem returns here before every Eid and wedding season, when Punjab and Sindh food authorities seal sweet shops and bakeries for unhygienic kitchens and fake milk products. The lesson is the same on both sides of the border: buy sweets from shops you can see, check that khoa and mithai smell fresh, and keep festival food in the fridge.

What to watch next: whether the named chains respond, and whether the delivery apps remove the affected stores from their listings.