Hyderabad: Cockroaches, fungus-infested vegetables, and expired food were found inside the dark stores that fulfil quick-commerce orders in Hyderabad, prompting food safety officials to shut down four of them.
The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) suspended the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licences of the four outlets on Wednesday, September 30, and ordered them to stop operations immediately, according to Deccan Chronicle.
Ten enforcement teams comprising food safety officers and police personnel inspected 16 dark stores operated by Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart, Zepto, and Dropx Logistics in the Core Urban Region (CURE). Twelve of the 16 stores drew some form of action.
Swiggy Instamart was the worst hit, with six outlets facing action. Its stores at Pet Basheerabad and Saidabad lost their licences, while those at Nizampet, Gajularamaram and Shah Ali Banda were served show-cause notices. Its Chintal store got an improvement notice.
Five Flipkart stores were also pulled up. The Panjeshah Road outlet in Charminar was shut down, the Moosarambagh and Rethi Galli (Golconda) stores received show-cause notices, and the Chintal and Gajularamaram stores were given improvement notices. Zepto’s Ram Koti store was the only outlet of the company to face action, and it too lost its licence.
Inspectors described premises caked in dust, racks eaten by rust and cobwebs in corners. Vegetables were rotting with fungus, pests and cockroaches had made themselves at home, and expired and damaged items were found among regular stock. Officials also flagged labelling lapses and cold rooms where temperatures were not properly maintained.
Stores that received improvement notices will be reinspected, and penalties or other action will follow depending on whether they comply. The teams also collected 15 food samples on suspicion of adulteration.
This is not the first such drive. According to NewsMeter, TG SAFE suspended four licences in August after inspecting 29 dark stores in the same region.
