New Delhi, October 17 (H.S.): The Delhi government’s Food Safety Department has inspected warehouses and dark stores operated by e-commerce and quick-commerce companies and tested samples of various brands of desi ghee sold in the market. The inspections revealed several violations, including expired food products, pest infestations, unhygienic storage conditions and failures to maintain prescribed temperatures. Of the 59 desi ghee samples tested, 19 were found unsafe for human consumption, while four failed to meet food safety standards.

The inspection campaign is being conducted on the directions of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. In a statement issued on Saturday, the Chief Minister said that compromising the quality of food products or endangering public health through adulteration would not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Food Safety Department officials inspected food storage facilities operated by quick-commerce and retail companies in various parts of Delhi. In addition to expired products, the inspections revealed pest infestations, unhygienic storage conditions, deficiencies in maintaining prescribed cold-storage temperatures, damaged packaging and labelling irregularities.

At Swiggy Instamart’s facility in Uttam Nagar, officials found expired products, including frozen green peas, Greek yoghurt, eggless chocolate-chip brownies and cow ghee. Some packets of sprouts, fruits and vegetables also lacked expiry dates.

At Reliance Retail Limited’s facility in the Wazirpur Industrial Area, officials reportedly found flies, mosquitoes, a lizard and spider webs. The facility also lacked a cleaning schedule and a cleaning-related checklist.

At Zomato Hyperpure’s facility in Ghevra, expired products, including Coke Diet and Nestlé Shikanji, were found. Unhygienic conditions were also recorded during the inspection.

At Zepto Limited’s facility in Jheel Khureja, officials found that the prescribed cold-storage temperature was not being maintained adequately. Cockroaches and spider webs were also observed. The racks were dirty and rusted, food products were stored above spoiled items, wall surfaces were peeling, and some food products had been placed directly on the floor.

At Blink Commerce Private Limited’s facilities on Asaf Ali Road and in Daryaganj, officials found dirty crates and dust accumulation in food storage areas. Rodent traps were found to be inadequately placed and insufficient in number. At the company’s Rohini store, the arrangement of food products did not adequately prevent the risk of cross-contamination between different items.

According to the Food Safety Department, food samples were collected during the inspections, and corrective notices were issued to the establishments concerned, directing them to address the identified deficiencies.

Separately, the department collected 59 samples of different desi ghee brands from markets across Delhi, including Naharpur, Posangipur, Laxmi Nagar, Preet Vihar, Rampura, Tagore Garden, Kalyanpuri, Krishna Vihar and Kondli. Laboratory testing found 19 samples unsafe for human consumption and four others below the prescribed standards. More than 42 per cent of the samples failed to meet the applicable safety or quality requirements.

The brands whose samples were declared unsafe for human consumption included Haryana Light, Haryana Supreme, Haryana Dairy, Haryana Pure, Shri Haryana King, Shri Haryana Foods, Kartar, Prabhas, Madhu Sangam, Radha Krishna, New Punjab Super Brand, Akshara, Anand Gold, Shri Nandan, Shri Mohan and Shri Krishna.

The department classified samples of Nova, Govardhan Pure Cow Ghee and Pratap Desi Ghee as substandard.

According to the department, closure orders have been issued against food business operators found selling unsafe ghee, and their licences have been suspended. The action forms part of the government’s efforts to enforce food safety standards and protect consumers from unsafe and adulterated food products.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar