The Food and Drug Administration of Maharashtra has taken major action against a dark store "Energy Darkstore Services" located in Balewadi-Baner area of Pune city. Due to operation without a valid food license and many serious irregularities, the FDA has ordered the immediate closure of this establishment. This action has been taken after an on-the-spot inspection on June 5.
Without license, dirt and fake documents
According to the order issued by the Joint Commissioner's Office of the FDA, this establishment falls under the category of food business under Section 31(1) of the "Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006" and a license is mandatory for its operation.
Despite this, Energy Darkstore Services was storing and distributing food products without any valid license.
Major irregularities revealed during inspection
No food license: An application was made, but approved license was not submitted.
Poor storage condition: Food were kept in rusty racks.
Dirty and contaminated floor: The cleanliness system of the store was found to be extremely poor.
Fake packaging layer: Information on food packaging was found to be false.
Hygiene violation: The staff did not have hygiene certificates, nor did they wear protection like headcaps.
Cold storage without calibration certificate: The required certificate for milk and fruits was unavailable.
Pest control and internal audit reports missing: The store did not submit any proof.
Owner and manager responsible
The owner of this establishment Omprakash Mantri and store manager Jai Arvind Bhaskar have been found guilty of violating food safety rules. Both of them have been warned of legal action.
The company had applied in June, lack of documents became an obstacle.
Energy Darkstore Services had applied for a food license in June 2024, but the required documents were not submitted properly, due to which license was not granted.
Despite this, food distribution operations were continued by the company, which is legally wrong.
FDA investigation spreads across the city
The FDA has clarified that action will not be limited to only one store. All dark stores and online food distribution units are being inspected on a large scale across the city of Pune. The focus of this inspection is
Validity of food license
- Storage conditions
- Hygiene standards and pest control
- Staff training and hygiene
- Packaging quality
- Internal security and audit reports
FDA officials have said as long as there is no valid food license, any kind of operation will be considered a violation of the rules. However, if the company wants, it can obtain license under the Food Safety Act by submitting all the required documents and start operations again.
No compromise on public safety
Food is delivered directly to consumers for online orders through dark
stores. In such a situation, if cleanliness, storage or safety standards are not followed in these establishments, then it is directly playing with the health of the people, officials said.
Strict warning from FDA
The FDA has warned that if such operations are found to be continuing without a license, strict legal action will be taken under the Food Safety and Standards Act. This action is a warning to all other dark stores to obtain valid documents in time.
The FDA officials said this is just the beginning. All dark stores in Pune city are now under the surveillance of the watchdog agency.
