Hyderabad: Complaints about expired products on e-commerce sites prompted the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Food Safety Task Force to raid several city warehouses on Thursday. They checked hygiene, waste management, and compliance with regulations, focusing on expiry dates, storage, and labeling.
On Thursday, Food Safety officers made surprise visits to storage and distribution sites used by e-commerce platforms. They inspected 35 locations, gathering 65 samples, and the investigation continues.
Warehouses like Blink Commerce in Malkajgiri, Swiggy Instamart in Tarnaka, and BigBasket were among those inspected. Checks included hygiene, waste management, and compliance. Notices for immediate corrective actions were given. Inspectors examined consumable storage, packaging, and fire safety, aiming to ensure public health and safety in distribution chains.
Officials stated that GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan directed Food Safety Officers to inspect e-commerce related storage and delivery points, including those of Zepto, Amazon Fresh, Insta Mart, Blinkit, Big Basket, Swiggy, and Zomato. Inspections focused on food quality, storage conditions, and documentation, acting under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, and its rules from 2011, due to frequent quality complaints and expired food deliveries. Common violations found included lack of hygiene gear, poor pest control, mixed storage of food and non-food items, disorganized food storage, presence of houseflies, and missing medical certificates for food handlers.
When violations of the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006, and its rules are found, corrective notices are issued. For serious violations, cases go before Adjudication Officers.
