An operation by the Tukaram Mundhe-led Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Bhiwandi has uncovered expired, damaged and rejected food products worth Rs 33 crore. The findings have raised concerns that stock marked for destruction by major food companies may have been diverted back into the market for resale to consumers.
The FDA conducted coordinated inspections on October 14 and 15. Teams checked food retailers, warehouses and waste-disposal contractors and sought to trace products marked for destruction. The findings led to an FIR against 10 people linked to food companies, warehouses, disposal agencies and local traders.
During the operation, FDA officials inspected a discount store in Bhiwandi’s Gulzar Nagar area. They found 18 types of expired, damaged and leaking food products worth Rs 80,575 on sale. The shop did not have the required food licence, and the officials also found no purchase bills, inward records or supplier details, according to the FIR.
The shop operator told investigators that the stock came from Gulzar Abdul Mubin Khan. Officials then inspected Khan’s premises in Chavindra. They found 23 types of expired, damaged and leaking products worth Rs 86,825. The stock was seized, and operations were stopped.
The investigation then led officials to BK Dispose, a firm operated by Babar Miyaz Ahmed Siddiqui at Bhiwandi’s Khoni and Kamba areas in Bhiwandi. Investigators found expired stock from multiple companies. Records were inadequate to establish when the products arrived, how they were moved or whether they were destroyed.
The FIR records the seizure of 17,382 kg of stock worth Rs 2.40 crore from Khoni. Another 2,198 kg, valued at Rs 2.53 lakh, was seized from Kamba.
DISPOSAL RECORDS UNDER SCRUTINY
FDA teams also inspected warehouses operated by Reliance Consumer Products and Reliance Retail. They checked a Zomato Hyperpure facility that services Blinkit Commerce. The inspections raised questions about records for transporting and disposing of expired or damaged stock.
At Reliance Consumer Products’ Wadpe warehouse, officials found around 4,659 kg of expired products worth Rs 3.72 lakh. They also found 1,414.19 kg of damaged stock valued at Rs 1.20 lakh, according to the FIR.
Investigators said the company could not produce adequate documents to prove that the stock had been transported, weighed, and finally disposed of through Green Earth Waste Management Services.
At a Reliance Retail facility, officials identified damaged stock worth around Rs 54,265. It was linked to a proposed disposal arrangement with SK Traders. However, records establishing the contractor’s required authorisations were unavailable.
At the Zomato Hyperpure facility, officials found expired and unsafe products. Some packages had leaks or rodent damage.
The FIR also questions a claim that expired stock was sent to an entity called “Pan India Grocery Dump” in Bengaluru. Preliminary verification indicated that the entity might not exist.
The FDA suspects that products from company warehouses may have passed through disposal contractors and intermediaries. They may then have reached local suppliers and retailers for resale.
The FIR lists food stock worth Rs 33.71 crore as property connected with the case.
Separately, the FDA’s internal report says five food safety licences linked to Reliance Consumer Products, Reliance Retail, Zomato Hyperpure and Blinkit facilities in Maharashtra were suspended. The suspensions followed hearings on October 15.
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