EXPLAINED | Why Did FSSAI Suspend 1,133 Food Licences Before Diwali?

A food inspector can find trouble before opening a packet of sweets.

In Maharashtra, teams looking through shops, kitchens and warehouses in the run-up to Diwali reported inadequate pest control, missing temperature controls and gaps in the records that businesses are required to keep. The state’s Food and Drug Administration said licences linked to Blinkit and Zepto premises in Mumbai were among those suspended after checks on November 4 and 5. The action concerned specific premises. The state’s statement reportedly listed violations across the sweep without saying which finding led to each company’s suspension.

The checks were part of a much bigger push. On November 7, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) reported that a nationwide festive drive had resulted in 1,133 licence suspensions. The number covers action taken against businesses. To understand it, start with two questions. Is there a problem with the food? Can this business safely carry on selling it?

What happened?

From September 1 to November 5, inspectors covered 56,431 food establishments across India. FSSAI reported 10,047 notices requiring businesses to make improvements, 1,133 licence suspensions and 52 cancellations. Authorities initiated 410 prosecutions and seized about 3,280 tonnes of stock worth an estimated ₹81.8 crore. The stock included milk, paneer, khoya, ghee, edible oils and festive hampers. FSSAI sets national standards and coordinates enforcement.

State authorities do most of the work on the ground. Maharashtra’s FDA, for instance, reported suspending 954 licences and registrations after checking 9,667 establishments from September 1 to November 3. The state count includes registrations, and FSSAI’s release gives no state breakdown. The two tallies cannot tell us Maharashtra’s exact share of the national licence suspensions.

Why did inspectors step up checks before Diwali?

More people buy sweets, dairy products and cooking oil around Navratri and Diwali. In a September 29 directive, FSSAI asked officials to focus inspections and sampling on known hotspots and to deploy mobile testing vans in busy markets or where they had specific intelligence. It issued a similar directive in 2025, warning that the seasonal rise in demand gives sellers an economic incentive to adulterate food. The timing reflects an enforcement strategy the regulator has used before.

What does an inspector look for?

Start with the premises. Is food stored at the right temperature? Is there evidence of pest control? Can the business show where the ingredients came from? Maharashtra’s inspectors reported problems with storage, food handling and mandatory records. In a separate sweep on November 6 and 7, they also flagged missing water-test reports and purchase bills. A bill helps an officer trace a suspect ingredient back to its supplier. A thermometer reading or a missing record can give an officer grounds to act while a food sample is still being tested.

When does a warning become a suspension?

Under Section 32 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, an officer can issue an improvement notice. It says what the business must fix and gives it at least 14 days. If the business fails to comply, the officer can suspend the licence. The law also allows an immediate suspension in the interest of public health, with reasons recorded in writing. The national tally does not say how many suspensions followed a warning or how many were immediate.

What does a business have to do to reopen?

It must get the suspension lifted before resuming the activities it covers. The licensing rules allow officials to reinspect the premises. If the business still fails to fix the problems cited in its notice, the authority can cancel the licence after giving it a chance to respond. Businesses can appeal a suspension or cancellation to the Commissioner of Food Safety. FSSAI’s 2026 rules removed periodic renewal for licences issued from April 1. Suspension and cancellation remain possible.

How does a sample get from the counter to the lab?

For a formal enforcement sample, an officer ordinarily splits the food into four parts, marks and seals them, and sends one part to the food analyst. A business can ask for another part to go to an accredited lab. If those reports disagree, a further portion goes to a designated referral lab for a final finding. That process gives officials a way to check a disputed result before it becomes the basis for further action.

Does a failed sample mean the food was adulterated?

The national release groups the failures under one label, non-compliant. A sample can fail because the product falls short of its prescribed composition, because it is misleadingly labelled or because it is unsafe to eat. At Delhi’s Mori Gate khoya market, officials used a mobile van to screen samples. Reportedly 35 of 44 failed the initial checks and that two additional samples went to a lab. The on-site results told officials where to look. The lab work was needed to establish exactly what those samples contained.

Is food adulteration getting worse across India?

This drive cannot settle that. At the time of the release, 23,648 of 43,939 samples had been analysed. Of those, 2,273, or 9.6 per cent, failed to meet standards. The inspections targeted known trouble spots, and 20,291 of the samples collected had yet to be analysed when FSSAI reported the figures. To track a rise in adulteration, we’d need comparable festive-season data from earlier years, with the same types of foods and a separate count of failures for adulteration.

What can shoppers check before buying?

FSSAI’s Food Safety Connect lets shoppers verify a seller’s licence or registration and report a problem. India also has a voluntary hygiene-rating scheme for businesses that sell food directly to consumers. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, diners can search a public register for a business’s hygiene score from its last inspection. That answers a question a licence number alone cannot answer. What did inspectors find when they last visited?

The next test of the festive drive is whether it changes what happens at the premises that were flagged. The remaining lab results will tell us more about the food. Follow-up inspections and licence decisions will show which businesses fixed the conditions that brought inspectors to their doors.