Rotten Food, Rotten Warehouses
In Mumbai’s Dharavi, officials from Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently suspended Zepto’s food license after inspecting its dark store. What they found was shocking: food items dumped on damp, dirty floors near stagnant water, covered in fungal growth.
Expired products were mixed in with fresh stock, and cold storage norms were blatantly ignored. “The premises were damp and disorganised,” said an official, calling it a textbook violation of food safety norms.
A similar scene played out at Zepto’s warehouse in Mayur Vihar, Delhi, where a foul-smelling washroom stood just feet away from stored food items. Yet, operations continued as normal. Zepto claims to offer lightning-fast delivery—but at what cost?
Customers Cry Foul: “Rotten, Smelly, and Inedible”
Social media is overflowing with complaints from angry customers. One wrote, “Ordered a grape bowl and papaya cuts from @ZeptoNow — received rotten, smelly, and inedible fruits. Wasted my money and time. Shameful quality!” Another shared, “Two boxes of expired eggs delivered under Zepto Saver. Found rotten egg—this is playing with people’s health!” Some said that even requesting a refund was a challenge: “Their interface makes it impossible to claim a refund. They’re cheating people.”
This isn’t new. Zepto has been called out for poor quality products time and again. “I don’t want 10-minute food delivery,” said Vaibhav Sisinty, founder of GrowthSchool. “It’s ultra-processed, ready-to-eat food stored in cold storage, heated in a microwave and sent your way. It’s not fresh, and it’s certainly not healthy.”
Riders Thrown Under the Bus
If a customer complains, Zepto doesn’t just stop there—it punishes its delivery staff. At the Mayur Vihar warehouse, riders revealed that they are immediately deactivated without investigation. “We’re not even asked for explanations. Our IDs are blocked immediately,” said one worker. Another added, “Zepto doesn’t get held accountable. It’s the delivery riders whose accounts are suspended.”
Some said police were even called on them unfairly. “We’ve been working here for years, and suddenly they just cut us off. No warning, no support.” Riders went on strike, demanding basic dignity in a system that treats them as disposable.
This reflects a larger pattern. Thameem Ansari, a business strategist, pointed out, “Delivery partners are pushed into risky behaviour like rash driving. No service is worth endangering lives.”
The Dark Truth Behind 10-Minute Delivery
This isn’t just a Zepto problem—it’s a deeper issue with the quick-commerce model. Piramanayagam T.D., a product manager in last-mile delivery, exposed another layer, “Products are removed from refrigeration 30 days before expiry to appear fresh. These then sit outside in the heat and rot.”
He added, “Eventually, they’re dumped in landfills, damaging soil and groundwater.”
Quick commerce, he said, is hiding unsustainable practices. “With limited space, essential foods like eggs, bread, and milk rot in the corners of these stores. The waste is massive and invisible to the public.”
The obsession with speed is pushing platforms to cut corners everywhere—from warehouse hygiene to worker safety. As CA Amit Jain put it, “There’s no need to have food delivered in under 10 minutes. Why risk someone’s life for that? It’s not worth it—for your wallet, their safety, or your health.”
Zepto Responds, But Is It Enough?
Faced with backlash, Zepto offered a boilerplate reply, “We’ve initiated an internal review and are working with authorities to ensure full and swift compliance. We are committed to rectifying the lapses.” But for many, the statement falls flat.
This isn’t an isolated lapse. It’s a recurring pattern of unhygienic warehouses, expired food, silenced delivery workers, and a culture of speed over safety.
The Real Cost of Convenience
As India’s quick-commerce sector explodes—with Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy, and Zomato battling for dominance—it’s time to ask the hard questions. Are we building a delivery ecosystem that’s unsustainable, exploitative, and dangerous?
“Another five minutes in the name of safety is acceptable to me :)”, one user wrote on LinkedIn. Maybe it's time we all agreed. Because no mango is worth a rider’s life. And no 10-minute delivery is worth food that makes you sick.