Zomato Hyderabad Warehouse Raid Reveals 'Future Packing Date' on Mushrooms; CEO Addresses Concerns

Following a raid by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at Zomato’s Hyperpure warehouse in Hyderabad, 90 packets of button mushrooms were discovered with incorrect packaging dates, indicating a “future packing date.” In response, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal clarified that these mushrooms had been flagged and rejected by the warehouse team during quality control (QC) checks.

In a post on the social media platform X, Goyal attributed the issue to a "manual typing error on the vendor’s side." He emphasized that the packets in question had already been identified and rejected by their QC process.

“This is not typical, and we take such matters seriously,” Goyal stated. He also mentioned that the vendor responsible for the error has been delisted from their database. He reassured stakeholders that Hyperpure maintains strict guidelines and technological systems to ensure quality control, allowing for timely identification of such mistakes.

“I find it perplexing that only these 90 packets, worth Rs 7,200, are being highlighted in the media, especially considering our total inventory runs into crores and we received an A+ rating for our operations,” added Goyal.

The FSSAI’s findings came after a task force inspection on October 29 at the Zomato Hyperpure facility located in Kukatpally, Hyderabad. The Commissioner of Food Safety in Telangana reported that the 18 kilograms of button mushrooms found had a future packing date of October 30, 2024. Furthermore, the inspection revealed that the premises were inadequately protected against pests, with houseflies observed inside and some food handlers not wearing proper hair coverings or aprons.

Zomato remains committed to upholding food safety standards and ensuring product quality throughout its supply chain.