Licenses of 14 warehouses of Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart suspended; FDA’s big action on finding expired food, cockroaches and serious defects

The Food Safety Administration has taken the biggest action so far against quick commerce companies claiming to deliver grocery and food items to homes within 10 minutes across the country. Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food business licenses of 14 warehouses and dark stores associated with Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart with immediate effect, following a massive statewide surprise inspection drive.

This strict action of the regulator has shaken millions of consumers who order ration and packed food online. Different teams of the FDA had simultaneously raided 86 online delivery establishments spread across several major cities of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Satara. During this period, serious improvement notices were given to 60 establishments, while an order was issued to one unit to immediately stop functioning completely. The 14 establishments whose permits have been suspended include five Blinkit, five Zepto, two Swiggy Instamart and two of their associate vendors.

Presence of expired chicken, cockroaches and rats: Shocking flaws revealed in investigation

The inspection report prepared by the FDA officials is enough to give goosebumps to any common consumer. Dark stores in posh areas like Andheri, Bandra, Malad, Mulund and Ghatkopar were found to have gross filth and disregard for safety standards. Rodent droppings, swarms of lizards and cockroaches were found crawling right near food packets in the warehouse of Instamart in Bandra.

Expired curry-cut chicken was kept openly in a facility in Andheri West, which was destroyed on the spot by the officials. Raw vegetables and fruits were rotting in many dark stores, on which insects were thriving. Besides this, packets of daily used food items like pulses, flour, bread and milk were found kept directly on the dirty and broken floor without any pallets or stands. The storage racks were completely rusted out and the walls were covered in cobwebs.

Cold-chain failure and blatant ignoring of FIFO-FEFO rules

The most sensitive aspect in food safety is ‘cold-chain maintenance’. It is mandatory to keep frozen food, dairy products, cheese, butter and non-veg items at a prescribed minus degree or minimum temperature so that bacteria do not grow in them. FDA’s investigation found the temperatures of chiller rooms and deep freezers at Blinkit store in Malad and Zepto warehouse in Pune to be much warmer than the standards. Even anti-rooms required for frozen items were not present.

Additionally, the most basic rules of warehouse inventory, FIFO (First In, First Out) and FEFO (First Expired, First Out) were being flouted. At the Zepto outlet in Lohegaon, Pune, food products that had crossed the ‘use by’ date were found lined up on the shelves. Instead of putting forward products that were nearing their expiry date, new and old goods were crammed together without any sorting.

Serious questions were also raised on the medical fitness of delivery riders and staff.

The scope of the investigation was not limited to just the walls of the warehouse, but the health standards of the employees packing the goods and the delivery riders delivering them to the customers were also scrutinized. Under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, it is legally mandatory for food handlers to have regular medical checkups and fitness certificates.

Around 40 employees were found working at Blinkit Dark store in Malad without any medical examination records. Employees were handling loose food items without gloves, aprons and hair caps. Whereas in Karad, Satara, when the FDA conducted a surprise check of 125 two-wheeler delivery partners of Blinkit, no one was found to have the necessary medical fitness record or identity card. Not only this, even the mandatory FSSAI license number was not displayed on the delivery bags and rider boxes, following which the company’s two-wheeler delivery services were temporarily banned.

10 minute blind run and food safety crisis: the weak side of quick commerce

The quick commerce market in India has grown at an unprecedented pace in the last two years. While traditional e-commerce companies used to deliver in 24 to 48 hours, companies like Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart have changed consumer habits by providing delivery in 10 to 15 minutes. But the ‘dark stores’ (small closed warehouses within the city), which are said to be the backbone of this superfast delivery model, are now under serious questions on the safety and quality front.

Experts believe that in order to increase the speed of delivery and pack thousands of products in less space, ventilation, hygiene, waste disposal and pest control are being neglected in dark stores. Under pressure to pick and pack packets within 10 minutes, warehouse employees send expired or damaged packets to customers without checking the quality. This comprehensive action by FDA has made it clear that business speed cannot be above the health of citizens under any circumstances.

Warning to consumers: Keep these 5 things in mind while ordering food items online

If you also order milk, bread, cheese, vegetables or other packed food from Quick Commerce apps daily, then strictly follow these important points for your safety:

• Check ‘Use By’ and ‘Expiry Date’ as soon as you take delivery: Immediately check the expiry date printed on the packet. If the date is erased, overwritten or near expiry, return the goods immediately.

• Packaging and seal check: When consuming frozen food or dairy products, ensure that the packet is not puffed, torn or wet. If ice cream or frozen peas are found melted, do not consume them as that is a sign of cold-chain breakdown.

• Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly: Due to lack of pest control in dark stores, fruits and vegetables may contain germs or chemicals. Before cooking or eating them, clean them thoroughly with lukewarm water and salt/vinegar.

• File a complaint on questionable quality: If you receive a damaged, rotten or expired item from an app, file a complaint with proof (photo/bill) on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) and FSSAI’s ‘FoSCoS’ portal along with getting a refund on the app.

After this strict action of Maharashtra FDA, now food safety departments of other states are also preparing to audit the dark stores present in their respective cities, due to which strict policy and structural changes can be seen in the functioning of quick commerce companies in the coming days.