Zomato Hyperpure warehouse raid: Vendor error caused issue, clarifies Goyal
Zomato chief executive officer (CEO) Deepinder Goyal clarified concerns regarding food safety-related issues reported at the company's Hyperpure warehouse in Hyderabad, saying it was a "vendor error".
Goyal, in an X post, said only 90 packets of button mushrooms had an "incorrect" packaging date, while overall the facility was rated A+ by officials at the Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana.
Hyperpure is Zomato's supplies platform for restaurants. It allows them to purchase items like antibiotic residue-free chicken; provides eco-friendly packaging; and offers competitive prices.
"Just want to clarify that the FSSAI team noted that 90 packets of button mushrooms had incorrect packaging date -- these were already identified by our warehouse team and were rejected during an inward QC," Goyal tweets.
Goyal says this is not "usual", and was due to a "manual typing error" on the vendor’s side. "Still, the concerned vendor has been delisted from our database."
Goyal claims that Hyperpure ensures "stringent" inward guidelines and tech systems to identify this error in time.
"We are committed to upholding industry food safety standards and are focused on not compromising on product quality at any stage of the supply chain. The recent food safety inspection at our Hyderabad warehouse resulted in the Hyperpure warehouse achieving an A+ rating, the highest benchmark in their ranking."
Saying Hyperpure has received "A+" by the authorities, Goyal says the issue was found with a small number of mushroom packets worth Rs 7,200, out of the crores of inventory in the warehouse, and that these were never going to make it to customers. "Maybe some people benefit from the virality which they get at the expense of pulling down the Zomato brand. And maybe we all love to believe the narrative that “all big business is bad business”."
Also Read: Zomato hikes platform fee to ₹10
Goyal's response came following reports that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) inspected Zomato's "Hyperpure" facility in Hyderabad before Diwali and found 18 kg button mushrooms labelled with a packaging date of October 30, 2024, while they were inspected on October 29, 2024.
The Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana, during the task force's inspection at the Zomato warehouse on October 29, 2024, found these violations.
"Premises found open directly to the outside environment without proper insect proof screen. Houseflies were observed inside the premises. Few of the food handlers were found without haircaps and aprons," it said.
The Food Safety Authority, however, said the medical fitness certificates for food handlers and pest control records for the premises were available with the food business operator (FBO). It said the FBO was found to be operating with a state licence and the licence was displayed at the premises.
On October 24, 2024, ahead of Dewali, food delivery platform Zomato raised its platform fee from ₹6 to ₹10 in select cities. In August 2023, Zomato had introduced a platform fee at ₹2, progressively raising it to ₹3, ₹4, and temporarily to ₹9 last December, before finally settling at ₹10 currently. With this hike, Zomato now charges a fee of ₹10 per order, which applies to all customers, including gold members.
Zomato reported a consolidated net profit of ₹176 crore for the second quarter ending September 30, 2024, marking a significant 389% increase from ₹36 crore in the same period last year. Revenue surged by 68.5% YoY to ₹4,799 crore in Q2, up from ₹2,848 crore a year ago and ₹4,206 crore in the previous quarter.
Shares of Zomato are trading 3,27% down at ₹240.90 on the BSE, in line with the broader market index Sensex, which is also down 1.60%. At the current share price, the company's m-cap stands at ₹2,12,867.48 crore.