Zepto’s Trouble Timeline: It’s Not Just About Fungus - The Crisis Is Worse Than You Think

Zepto In Hot Soup: After facing the ire of netizens with mounting acquisitions of dark patterns, MRP manipulation, and deceptive user experience, India's quick commerce giant Zepto's license to deliver groceries and food items was suspended in Dharavi, Mumbai over blatant non-compliance of food safety standards.

Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revealed that it found fungal growth on food products, sub-standard maintenance of cold storage temperatures, and blurred distinction between expired and items still edible for consumption during a recent raid.

Following the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raid at the Dharavi outlet of Kiranakart Technologies Pvt Ltd, the state FDA shared its plans to inspect the facilities of all quick commerce majorc ompanies operating in India such as Blinkit and Instamart.

After FDA's stong stance against Zepto, it was found that a foul-smelling washroom stood just feet away from stored food items at Zeot warehouse in Mayur Vihar Phase 1, Delhi. Yet, operations continued as normal.

The incident raises concerns about food safety in quick-commerce, post several customer complaints on X highlighting similar issues.

Zepto Under Scanner: Unygenic Trouble Mounts For Quick Commerce Giant

Here's having a look at the instances of unsanitary, smelly malpractices that have been linked with Zepto in recent times. Zepto's trouble timeline- 

May 2025: Zepto Cafe pauses services in several cities due to high demand and difficulty maintaining quality standards, affecting over 700 gig workers. During the same period, a Zepto delivery executive in Bengaluru was arrested for allegedly assaulting a customer over a wrong address.

The Bengaluru-headquartered firm also received a notice from centre for utilising "dark patterns" to sway consumers, a practice that can mislead users. On the other hand, a Reddit post went viral for alleging "toxic work culture" at Zepto, including long work hours, and heightened concerns about customer data misuse.

June 2025: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspends Zepto's business license at its Mumbai warehouse in Dharavi due to food safety violations, including fungal growth on food, expired products, and unhygienic conditions.