Delhi’s Food Safety Department has found 19 of 59 desi ghee samples unsafe for human consumption, while inspections of food-storage facilities used by quick-commerce and retail companies uncovered expired products, pests and cold-storage violations across the city ahead of the festival season.
The findings were disclosed by the Chief Minister’s Office after samples of different ghee brands were collected from markets across Delhi. Four additional samples were classified as substandard because they failed to meet prescribed food safety standards.
According to the CMO, the brands whose samples were declared unsafe included Haryana Lite, Haryana Supreme, Haryana Dairy, Haryana Pure, Shree Haryana King, Shree Haryana Foods, Kartar, Prabhas, Madhu Sangam, Radha Krishna, New Punjab Super Brand, Akshara, Anand Gold, Shree Nandan, Shree Mohan and Shree Krishna. Samples of Nova, Govardhan Pure Cow Ghee and Pratap Desi Ghee were classified as substandard.
The department’s inspections also identified deficiencies at facilities supplying food through online platforms. At Swiggy Instamart’s premises in Uttam Nagar, officials found expired frozen green peas, Greek yoghurt, eggless chocolate-chip brownies and cow ghee products. Some packets of sprouts, fruits and vegetables did not carry expiry dates, the CMO said.
At Reliance Retail Limited’s premises in the Wazirpur Industrial Area, inspectors found flies, mosquitoes and a lizard, along with spider webs. An inspection at Zomato Hyperpure’s premises in Ghevra found expired products and unhygienic conditions, while officials reported shortcomings in maintaining the prescribed cold-storage temperature at Zepto Limited’s premises in Jheel Khureja. Cockroaches and spider webs were also found there, according to the statement.
The CMO said orders had been issued to shut down establishments selling unsafe ghee and that their licences had been suspended. The statement did not specify the names of the establishments affected by the closure orders or the duration of the suspensions.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said compromising food quality or endangering public health through adulteration was unacceptable. “The health and safety of Delhiites will not be compromised,” she said, adding that the Food Safety Department had been directed to strengthen monitoring of markets, food-storage facilities and establishments supplying food through online platforms.
The inspections come as demand for packaged food and cooking products typically increases during the festival season. The government said its objective was not limited to identifying deficiencies, but to establish a system in which families in Delhi have access to safe and quality food. It added that protecting public health and ensuring accountability in the food trade remained priorities.
