Blinkit’s Balewadi Dark Store Resumes Operations : Report

Days after the Maharashtra branch of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended the food business licence of Blinkit’s Balewadi dark store in Pune, citing regulatory and food safety concerns, the quick commerce major has reportedly secured the required licence to restart the operations.

A Business Standard report said that the revocation of licence suspension comes after the dark store renewed the required licence to produce, distribute or sell food items. 

Inc42 has reached out to Blinkit and FDA for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on their responses.

Last week, FDA conducted an inspection at Blinkit’s facility and found that the dark store did not have adequate licensing, which is required under Section 31 (1) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Besides, the authorities also found food items on the floor and workers not wearing protective caps. The dark store also lacked several certifications, including pest control audit certificate and calibration certificate (for cold storage equipment).

While the company now claims to have fixed the issues at Balewadi’s dark store, this is not the first time that Blinkit has faced backlash due to its unhygienic practices. 

Last year, Telangana food safety department raided a Blinkit-owned warehouse in Devar Yamjal area, claiming the premises to be “disorganised, unhygienic and dusty”. Besides, food items worth INR 82,000 were found, which either did not comply with food safety norms or had expired licence.

Since the past few months, the food security authorities have been bullish on conducting surprise inspections at the dark stores owned or operated by these quick commerce giants. 

Last month, Zepto’s warehouse in Mumbai’s Dharavi lost its food operating licence due to unhygienic food conditions at the premises. However, the suspension was later revoked after the company submitted a compliance report and re-inspection was done by the authorities.

The Surprise Audits 

The Indian quick commerce industry is expected to hit the $40 Bn mark by 2030. However, in terms of quality, hygiene and compliance, dark stores are struggling to keep up with the pace. 

As per the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011, every food business operating in India needs to follow a certain set of rules associated with storage, handling and manufacturing of the food items.

This rule set includes maintaining hygienic conditions at the premises, proper training to the operators, availability of cold storage facilities for raw food items, keeping track of product’s expiry date, maintaining adequate temperature and much more.

However, social media is often flooded with complaints regarding these quick commerce giants delivering expired or stale food products to the consumers. 

Besides the food security concerns, users have also highlighted the dark patterns on these apps. For instance, Users often complain regarding hidden charges and price differentiation. These platforms use algorithms to determine price based on the customers’ location and device.

Last month, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued an advisory to all ecommerce players to take necessary steps to ensure that their platforms do not engage in deceptive and unfair trade practice.