Delhi food safety raids conducted over the past two months have found 85 unsafe or substandard samples among 290 food products tested, while more than 4,000 kilograms of poor-quality food have been destroyed, according to the Delhi Food Safety Department. The inspections have intensified ahead of the festive and wedding season, when demand for sweets, dairy products and other prepared foods rises sharply.
The department carried out raids and sampling at 30 locations, including wholesale markets, food manufacturing units, restaurants, retail outlets, bakeries, banquet halls and dark stores linked to online delivery platforms. The enforcement drive was undertaken on the directions of Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh.
Officials focused on products including ghee, paneer, khoya and sweets. Repeated inspections were conducted in areas such as Mori Gate Khoya Mandi, Okhla and Janakpuri, which include sensitive food markets and wholesale supply points. The department said the action was intended to check the sale of adulterated or unsafe food and improve accountability among food businesses.
In a recent operation in Nihal Vihar, officials identified 12 premises allegedly operating without licences. The drive resulted in the destruction of 400 kilograms of prepared sweets, while 14 samples were collected for testing. The report does not specify the final laboratory findings for those samples.
The enforcement has also extended to the digital food economy. Dark stores associated with platforms including Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Amazon and Reliance were inspected. Officials also checked wholesalers selling food products through YouTube and Instagram, indicating that the department is including online and social-commerce channels in its food-safety monitoring.
Bakeries were covered in a separate inspection campaign involving seven manufacturing and retail units. Ten food samples were collected during the inspections, and recommendations were made to issue improvement notices to two establishments over hygiene and food-safety compliance concerns.
The health minister directed the department to continue inspections and sampling during the festive and marriage seasons. The department said action against food businesses violating safety requirements would continue across Delhi, with inspections covering both conventional markets and newer delivery and retail networks.
