Blinkit warehouse raid in Hyderabad: Expired food, infested flour and daal found

A warehouse belonging Blinkit, the quick commerce arm of Zomato, was raided by food safety officials in Hyderabad. The Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana, shared details on the raid in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Many violations were found during the raid as there was a lack of basic hygiene protocols at the facility, the food safety department said. Expired food items were also discovered on-site, it said.

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The Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana, said that the following violations were reported in the warehouse, “The premises found to be very disorganised, unhygienic and dusty at storage racks. There is no Fostac trainee available. Food handlers were found without headgears, gloves and aprons. Medical fitness certificates of food handlers not available. Cosmetic products were stored along with food products. The license of Whole Farm Congruence Trade and Services Pvt Ltd was not as per FSS act regarding address mentioned on the label. Notice will be sent. The products manufactured by Kamakshi Foods license found to be expired, hence the products of VSR i.e Suji, Raw peanut butter, Maida, Poha, Besan and Bajra worth Rs. 30k were seized. Suspected infested Whole Farm Ragi flour and Toor dal of worth Rs. 52k was seized and samples sent to lab.”

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Notice will be issued and further action shall be taken accordingly, the official further said.

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As per Times of India, a company spokesperson said, “We take safety and hygiene standards very seriously. We are closely working with our warehouse partner and the Food safety department to implement corrective actions from the findings.”