Delhi food safety inspections ahead of the festival season have found expired products, pest infestations and unhygienic storage conditions at facilities operated by online grocery and retail companies, while 19 of 59 tested desi ghee samples were declared unsafe for human consumption, according to an official release cited by the Chief Minister’s Office.
The Food Safety Department inspected facilities linked to quick-commerce and food supply companies in several parts of Delhi. Officials found expired frozen green peas, Greek yoghurt, eggless chocolate-chip brownies and cow ghee products at Swiggy Instamart’s premises in Uttam Nagar. Some packets of sprouts, fruits and vegetables did not carry expiry dates, the release stated.
At Reliance Retail Limited’s premises in the Wazirpur Industrial Area, inspectors found flies, mosquitoes and a lizard, along with spider webs. Officials also reported expired products and unhygienic conditions during an inspection of Zomato Hyperpure’s premises in Ghevra.
At Zepto Limited’s premises in Jheel Khureja, the department found shortcomings in maintaining the prescribed cold-storage temperature. Cockroaches and spider webs were also reported at the facility. The findings place attention on the storage and handling systems behind online food delivery, where products move through warehouses and dark stores before reaching consumers.
The department separately collected 59 samples of different desi ghee brands from markets across Delhi. Nineteen samples were classified as unsafe for human consumption, while four failed to meet food safety standards and were categorised as substandard.
The brands identified in the official statement as having unsafe samples were Haryana Lite, Haryana Supreme, Haryana Dairy, Haryana Pure, Shree Haryana King, Shree Haryana Foods, Kartar, Prabhas, Madhu Sangam, Radha Krishna, New Punjab Super Brand, Akshara, Anand Gold, Shree Nandan, Shree Mohan and Shree Krishna. The statement did not specify which of the 19 brands corresponded to each individual finding.
Samples of Nova, Govardhan Pure Cow Ghee and Pratap Desi Ghee were classified as substandard. The department said orders had been issued to shut establishments selling unsafe ghee and that their licences had been suspended.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the government would not accept compromises affecting food quality or public health. “The health and safety of Delhiites will not be compromised,” she said, adding that the Food Safety Department had been directed to tighten monitoring of markets, food storage facilities and establishments supplying food products through online platforms.
The Chief Minister’s Office said action would be taken in accordance with the rules wherever food safety standards were violated. The department’s inspections and enforcement orders are the next formal steps identified in the official statement.
