Following surprise inspections that found major hygiene and food storage violations, the food safety body in the state of Maharashtra has tightened the noose on dark stores operating within the ambit of quick commerce. The FDA in Maharashtra has suspended licenses of 14 food businesses related to quick commerce operations. This includes businesses related to companies like Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart.
The new development highlights an aspect of the delivery model which consumers don’t get to witness. While food items and grocery items reach consumers in minutes, the storage and warehousing of the food takes place in neighbourhood dark stores.
Some of the issues discovered during the inspections include problems with food safety and sanitation. These include infestation by pests such as rodents, poor storage of food, and expiration of some of the food products.
These discoveries are especially important because dark stores deal with items that end up in the possession of consumers. Inefficiencies in storage, pest control, temperature control, and stock rotation can affect food quality even before it reaches the customer.
This decision was made after the FDA conducted inspections in dozens of establishments within the state. These inspections involved 86 establishments, 60 of which received improvement notices, while several warehouses had their permits suspended due to hygienic issues.
There is no doubt that quick commerce firms have revolutionized the manner in which the Indians buy grocery and packaged foods. It does not mean visiting the supermarket anymore since you can simply use the app and get your milk, veggies, packaged foods, and frozen products in a few minutes.
But for that quick delivery service, there is a network of dark stores located close to residential areas that have to hold lots of inventory and process hundreds or even thousands of orders at the same time.
The problem is that speed is no excuse for the lack of compliance regarding food safety because food products should be properly stored, outdated food items should be taken out, perishables should be kept at the right temperature, and there should be no risks of infestations and contamination.
The recent move by the Maharashtra FDA illustrates the problem.
A licence suspension is an administrative measure imposed on a particular establishment dealing with food items. This doesn’t imply that all Blinkit, Zepto or Instamart establishments in the state of Maharashtra have been suspended from operations.
The suspension is imposed on the facilities where violations sufficient to suspend licenses were found. Other facilities will operate if they comply with all food safety regulations.
It is important to know for the consumers that the new development should not be understood as each order made via these facilities is unsafe. On the contrary, this means that individual facilities handling and storing food products can be suspended.
However, most of the goods contained in dark stores are food products. Thus, the storage system used in the dark store will affect consumer health.
An appropriately managed and sanitized warehouse should have proper pest control mechanisms, hygienic storage racks, correct temperature conditions, and effective stock rotation. Items that are about to expire should also be determined and segregated, as per the regulations.
In past instances of regulating quick-commerce facilities, similar issues were found. According to information from the FSSAI previous Maharashtra inspections revealed foods being kept on the floor, dusty racks, lack of adequate documents on pest control, improper cold storage, and expired goods mixed with other products.