Let’s take a look at some of the recent episodes of food safety issues on quick commerce:
Ice cream incident: In a shocking incident, a doctor in Mumbai discovered a human finger in an ice cream cone his sister ordered on Zepto, throwing food safety and hygiene standards into question. The customer has filed a police complaint.
The ice cream was that of Yummo brand, owned by Walko Foods, which suspended operations of the facility from which the cone was used. Walko Foods houses other ice-cream brands like NIC and Grameen Kulfi along with running ice-cream parlours.
Concerns for q-commerce: This incident adds to a list of growing safety concerns by quick commerce companies. “Quick commerce firms are juggling many balls as they are figuring out things like managing newer SKUs and sourcing them, along with making sure that products are of adequate quality and are replaced before they go bad,” an executive told ET, adding that with fast expansion, such issues are bound to come up.
Yummo removed: Blinkit and Zepto have since removed Yummo products from their platforms till a full investigation is completed. Regulatory authorities are also looking into the matter.
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Food safety violations at Blinkit warehouse: Telangana’s Commissioner of Food Safety on June 6 found Zomato-owned Blinkit to be in multiple violations of food safety regulations after a raid at a warehouse near Hyderabad. Several products in the unit were found to have expired and were seized, according to the post. It was also found that cosmetic products were stored with food items.Eyeing expansion
With a surge in product categories like beauty, electronics, home decor, apparel, sports goods, and appliances offered in the past few months, quick commerce companies are undergoing a rapid transformation of their warehouse and dark store layouts.
ETtech“It’s a very high-octane task as new changes have to be implemented across an ever-increasing number of dark stores and warehouses,” an executive told ET.
