Zepto, Indira Canteen warehouses sealed in Bengaluru over ‘unhygienic’ food handling

On Tuesday, Bengaluru's Food Safety and Drug Administration sealed warehouses of Zepto and Indira Canteen establishments due to unhygienic food handling and storage conditions, as Karnataka broadens its enforcement efforts beyond restaurants and hotels to include food storage and distribution facilities. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and related rules guided the inspection of the Zepto warehouse at the Nippon Express facility in Hoskote taluk, revealing issues such as unhygienic food, non-compliant labelling, misbranding, and handling and storage violations.

In response, the warehouse was sealed, and a notice was issued, recommending a case for legal action before the Adjudicating Officer.

Three Indira Canteens located in Gottigere, Singasandra, and Lingarajapuram also fell under scrutiny, with violations including labelling and misbranding discovered. The Gottigere warehouse was subsequently sealed, while notices were distributed to all three facilities, with cases recommended for legal proceedings. Food samples, comprising pulses, turmeric powder, cooking oil, jaggery, salt, sugar, and prepared meals, were sent for laboratory testing.

This enforcement action comes alongside inspections of hotels, restaurants, and pubs across Bengaluru, with previous checks at Coldman Logistics and Radhakrishna Foodland food storage centers uncovering expired or nearly expired products. On August 10, 132 kg of food and 15 litres of used cooking oil were seized or discarded, with one UB City establishment found to contain rotten chicken and beef, while other inspections detected unfit food items such as duck, fish, green peas, and mushrooms.

The department has published an advisory for food businesses on hygiene, food storage, pest control, preventing cross-contamination, and safe disposal of expired food and used cooking oil, warning of strict legal action against violators. Zepto stated that it had cooperated with the inspection, taken note of the observations, and was addressing the recommended steps to improve food safety and hygiene processes.