Four dark stores in Hyderabad have been ordered to stop operations after the Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs suspended their FSSAI licences for food-safety violations, while five other stores received show-cause notices and three were issued improvement notices.
The action followed inspections of 16 dark stores operating across Hyderabad’s Core Urban Region. Ten enforcement teams comprising food safety officers and police personnel inspected facilities operated by Swiggy Instamart, Flipkart, Zepto and Dropx Logistics. The teams also collected 15 food samples after suspecting possible adulteration.
The suspended licences cover Swiggy Instamart stores at Pet Basheerabad and Saidabad, a Flipkart store at Panjeshah Road in Charminar and a Zepto store at Ram Koti. The establishments were directed to stop business operations immediately.
According to the inspection findings reported by the Times of India, officials identified unhygienic premises, dusty and rusted storage racks, cobwebs, expired and damaged food products, improper storage and handling practices, fungal-infested vegetables and cockroach and pest infestations. The inspections also found labelling violations and inadequate maintenance of cold-room temperatures.
Show-cause notices were issued to Swiggy Instamart stores at Nizampet, Gajularamaram and Shah Ali Banda, as well as Flipkart stores at Moosarambagh and Rethi Galli in Golconda. Improvement notices were issued to Flipkart stores at Chintal and Gajularamaram and a Swiggy Instamart store at Chintal.
Dark stores function as local fulfilment points for online grocery orders. Unlike conventional retail outlets, they are generally organised around rapid picking, packing and dispatch, making storage conditions, inventory rotation and temperature control central to the safety of food delivered to households. The Hyderabad inspections place those operational requirements under direct scrutiny as quick-commerce networks expand across the city.
The findings also show that food-safety enforcement is being extended beyond customer-facing supermarkets and restaurants to the less visible facilities that supply app-based deliveries. Customers may interact primarily with an application and a delivery worker, while the condition of the storage premises remains largely outside the consumer’s view.
TG SAFE will reinspect the establishments, with further action, including penalties, to be taken based on compliance. The next stage will determine whether the affected stores have corrected the violations and whether the suspended or cited establishments can resume operations under the applicable food-safety requirements.
