Delhi food safety inspections ahead of the festival season found expired groceries, pest infestations and unsafe ghee samples at storage facilities operated by online food delivery and retail companies, according to officials from the Delhi government’s Food Safety Department.
The enforcement drive uncovered expired frozen green peas, Greek yoghurt, eggless chocolate-chip brownies and cow ghee products at a food company’s premises in Uttam Nagar, the Chief Minister’s Office said. Officials also reported finding flies, mosquitoes and a lizard at facilities inspected during the operation.
The inspections identified several violations linked to the handling and storage of food, including unhygienic conditions, inadequate pest control and lapses in maintaining prescribed temperatures. These conditions are significant for online grocery and food-delivery operations because their storage facilities serve as an intermediate point between manufacturers, retailers and households.
Food safety officials collected samples from the establishments and issued improvement notices to the businesses concerned. The supplied report does not specify the names of the companies that received the notices or the deadlines for corrective action.
The department’s checks also covered desi ghee products. Of 59 desi ghee samples tested during the drive, 19 were found to be unsafe and four failed to meet food safety standards, officials said. The report does not provide the brands, product batches or individual test parameters associated with those samples.
The findings come as demand for groceries and prepared foods typically rises before festivals, placing greater pressure on storage, inventory rotation and delivery systems. For consumers, the inspection highlights that food ordered through an app still passes through physical warehouses and stores where expiry monitoring, refrigeration and pest control must be maintained.
The enforcement action also places responsibility on the food businesses operating these facilities to ensure that products are stored at prescribed temperatures and removed from sale after their expiry dates. The report does not state whether any facility was shut down, whether penalties were imposed or whether further testing is planned.
The Delhi Food Safety Department’s next steps, based on the notices and laboratory findings, will determine whether the establishments correct the violations and how authorities respond to products found unsafe or non-compliant.
