Telangana suspends licences of Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart, Zepto dark stores over food safety violations

Telangana food safety authorities have suspended the licences of dark stores operated by Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart and Zepto after inspections found serious violations including expired and damaged food, cockroach infestation, spoiled vegetables, mould and improper storage conditions.

The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) conducted the special enforcement drive with 10 teams comprising Food Safety Officers and police personnel. The inspections uncovered a range of violations, including expired and damaged food products, spoiled vegetables, pest infestation, poor storage practices and lapses in cold-room temperature maintenance.

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According to TG SAFE, officials found dusty and rusted racks, cobwebs and improper flooring at some premises, along with violations in food handling and storage. Teams also reported vegetables with fungal infestation, pest-infested food articles and breaches of the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations.

Cockroach infestations were among the more serious violations reported by the authority. Some establishments were also found to be storing food alongside non-food items, while officials found extensive expired inventory and visible mould growth.

Officials collected 15 samples from the inspected premises on suspicion of adulteration. TG SAFE said improvement notices and show-cause notices would also be issued to establishments where violations were found.

The licences of four establishments were suspended because of what the authority described as acute health hazards. The establishments were ordered to halt business operations immediately. The violations cited included heavy cockroach infestation, rotten vegetables, rusted shelving, co-storage of food and non-food items, extensive expired stock and visible mould.

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The action is part of a wider food safety enforcement push by Telangana. Earlier in September, the state government imposed a one-year ban on the manufacture, processing, packing, storage, distribution and sale of non-dairy or artificial analogue paneer across Telangana.

TG SAFE had also carried out a separate enforcement drive in Hyderabad's Kukatpally area earlier in September, inspecting 20 food establishments and suspending the FSSAI licences of five establishments over food safety and hygiene violations.

The latest inspections put quick-commerce dark stores under particular scrutiny as they increasingly serve as neighbourhood fulfilment centres for groceries and other food products, with the regulator's findings highlighting the importance of storage, hygiene and temperature controls alongside delivery speed.