India’s food regulator inspected Pernod’s Bengaluru plant, expanding its liquor crackdown.

India’s food safety regulator inspected a Pernod Ricard plant in Bengaluru last week and collected samples of two of the company’s best-known whiskies, widening a crackdown that had already hit Diageo’s operations in the country, according to four people familiar with the matter and a statement from the company.

Officials from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, or FSSAI, spent two days at the site, reviewed documents and took samples of Royal Stag and Blenders Pride for testing, three of the sources said. The inspection extends closer scrutiny to the second major international liquor group after recent action against facilities linked to United Spirits, Diageo’s India business.

Pernod Ricard confirmed that inspectors visited the plant. In a statement, the company said regulatory inspections are a routine part of the industry’s compliance system and that it is working with the authorities. It also said it maintains strong quality and safety standards.

The FSSAI has not published details of the visit, and the agency did not respond to requests for comment. Because the regulator has not released the file, much of what is known about the inspection comes from people with knowledge of the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is confidential.

One of those people, an Indian government official, said Pernod was told it needed to improve hygiene at the Bengaluru facility and ensure that markings related to the use of recycled plastic on bottles were correctly displayed. The same official and two other sources said no adverse findings had been issued against Pernod or against the two whisky brands sampled as of now.

That distinction matters for the company, which is already dealing with several disputes in India, one of its most important markets. Pernod faces a $314 million tax demand tied to allegations that it undervalued Scotch whisky imports. It is also involved in an antitrust case and remains under a separate ban in New Delhi related to liquor policy violations, allegations the company has denied.

The latest inspection comes during one of the most aggressive regulatory drives in India’s alcohol sector in years. Earlier this month, the FSSAI moved against several whisky and rum brands made by Diageo and some Indian producers, alleging improper use of flavoring in products sold as whisky. Reuters reported this week that Diageo has agreed to reformulate some popular brands in an effort to get state-level bans lifted.

In a separate action involving Diageo, authorities seized about 18,000 cases of liquor bottles after inspecting a factory and raising concerns that required markings showing the use of safe recycled plastic were missing, according to a previous Reuters report. In that case, the regulator also flagged issues involving labeling and the addition of whisky flavoring.

The inspection of Pernod’s Bengaluru plant suggests the regulator is not limiting its review to one company or one set of brands. India’s spirits market is estimated at about $40 billion, and a broader review of production practices, labeling and packaging standards could increase compliance costs for major producers and create a greater risk of delays if plants are asked to make changes or hold back shipments while tests are completed.

The sampled brands are central to Pernod’s position in India. Blenders Pride is one of the company’s flagship premium blended whiskies in the country, while Royal Stag is a mass-market brand with wide distribution. Any disruption involving those labels would carry commercial significance in a market where global liquor groups depend heavily on local production and state-by-state sales approvals.

So far, however, the known facts around the Pernod inspection are narrower than in the Diageo case. The sources said samples were taken and documents were sought, but they did not report any order banning sales, seizing stock or finding violations in the whisky itself. Pernod’s statement also did not indicate any such action.

The episode adds to a growing list of regulatory pressures facing foreign drinks companies in India, where the business is heavily controlled and subject to overlapping state and federal rules. Even when inspections do not produce formal findings, companies can face added testing, packaging reviews and plant-level corrective steps that slow operations and add cost. For now, the focus remains on what the FSSAI’s laboratory results and internal review will show after the samples from the Pernod plant are examined.