Food deliveries at lightning fast speed was largely not met with suspicion from Indian consumers so far. But now, Maharashtra's food inspection authority's crackdown on quick commerce giant Zepto paired with concerning visuals from dark stores may make consumers think twice.
The state's Food and Drug Administration inspection at Zepto's Dharavi facility showed alarming non-compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The agency reported observing fungal growth in food articles, storage of products near clogged or stagnant water, and failure to maintain cold storage temperatures as per regulatory standards. Adding to this, the facility had wet and filthy floors, with food items stored in disorganised and unsanitary methods, as expired food products were not separated from non-expired stock.
Q-Comm Poses Health Risks?
These concerns being flagged has raised critical questions about whether the promise of 10-minute deliveries is compromising health and safety standards.
"In the name of speed, there are obviously compromises that are being made," stated Abhinay Choudhari, former co-founder of BigBasket and current co-founder of LaundryMate.in. He emphasised that maintaining different storage requirements for products with varied shelf lives and adhering to a first in-first out principle in inventory is critical.
Choudhari also highlighted potential issues on the delivery side, such as products being dropped off without notification and the problematic co-delivery of food and non-food items. He even cited instances where delivery of food is paired with insect repellents or floor cleaners.
Slow Down For Food Safety
Echoing this view, Ankit Malhotra, senior research analyst at Counterpoint E-commerce, acknowledged compromise amid rapid growth of quick commerce.
"Instances like this will impact consumer sentiment for a while but are good to ensure that everyone knows what not to do, and consumers are more aware," he said.
Malhotra stressed the importance of brands enforcing the right processes so that their reputation and product quality is maintained, suggesting the use of advance inventory forecasting for sourcing and storage.
Predicting demand from trending and integrating technology into sourcing and trained staff is what Malhotra calls for.
Dr Pradip Chakraborty, former director of FSSAI, clarified that despite the system being relatively new, FSSAI on Feb. 2, 2017 had released the first guidelines for e-commerce and food delivery businesses.
"Companies are expected to deliver products with at least 45 days before expiry at the time of delivery. There is no lack of regulation but since it's a rapidly growing business, we need to help them comply and strengthen enforcement activities," he added.
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