Swiggy, Flipkart, Zepto dark stores face food safety action in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) has suspended the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licences of four dark stores in Hyderabad following inspections that found expired and damaged food, pest infestation and unhygienic conditions.
Ten enforcement teams, comprising food safety officers and police personnel, inspected 16 dark stores operated by Kwickbox Retail Pvt Ltd (Swiggy Instamart), Instakart Services Private Limited (Flipkart), Zepto Private Limited and Dropx Logistics in the Core Urban Region (CURE), TG SAFE said.
The teams inspected six Kwickbox Retail outlets at Pet Basheerabad, Chintal, Nizampet, Gajularamaram, Shah Ali Banda and Saidabad. They also checked eight Instakart Services outlets at Kompally, Chintal, Gajularamaram, Chandulal Baradari, Chowk Mohammed Khan, Edi Bazar, Moosarambagh and Rethi Galli. In addition, officials inspected a Zepto outlet at Ram Koti and a Dropx Logistics outlet at Nizampet.
Officials find food safety and storage violations
During the inspections, officials found dusty and rusted racks, cobwebs, improper flooring and unhygienic premises. They also found damaged and expired food products, improper food handling and storage, and spoiled vegetables with fungal growth.
Officials further reported labelling violations, cockroach infestation and pest-infested food. Some outlets also failed to maintain proper cold-room temperatures. TG SAFE collected 15 food samples after suspecting possible adulteration.
Meanwhile, TG SAFE will issue improvement notices to three outlets. These include Instakart Services outlets at Chintal and Gajularamaram and a Kwickbox Retail outlet at Chintal. Officials will reinspect the outlets to check compliance before deciding on further action.
The authority will also issue show-cause notices to five outlets. These include Kwickbox Retail outlets at Nizampet, Gajularamaram and Shah Ali Banda, and Instakart Services outlets at Moosarambagh and Rethi Galli in Golconda. TG SAFE said it would initiate further action, including penalties, based on the findings.
Four dark stores ordered to stop operations
TG SAFE suspended the FSSAI licences of four outlets and directed them to stop operations immediately in the interest of public health.
At the Kwickbox Retail outlet in Pet Basheerabad, officials found unhygienic premises, dust, cobwebs and damaged racks. They also found expired and damaged food products, cockroach infestation and poor record maintenance.
At the Instakart Services outlet in Pathergatty, Charminar, officials found expired and damaged food products and rotten vegetables. The inspection also revealed rusted and dusty shelves, food and non-food products stored together, poor cold-room temperature monitoring and unhygienic conditions.
The Zepto outlet at Ram Koti had heavy cockroach infestation, spoiled and fungus-contaminated vegetables, and damaged and expired food products. Officials also found rusty and untidy racks, cobwebs and dust.
At the Kwickbox Retail outlet in Saidabad, officials found several expired food products and extremely unhygienic premises. The inspection also revealed fungal or mould growth, melted and leaking ice creams and dairy products, and inadequate records.
TG SAFE said the four establishments must stop operations immediately to protect public health.
