After the viral post about Zomato selling analogue, aka synthetic paneer, to restaurants, the news about future dates mushrooms has taken the internet by storm. As per reports, a few violations occurred during a recent food inspection by FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) at Zomato’s Hyperpure warehouse.
Given that Hyperpure, Zomato’s B2B warehouse that supplies groceries, raw food, and even kitchen essentials to restaurants, the netizens have been talking about one major violation. Reportedly, ahead of Diwali, on October 29, the task force found 18 kilos of button mushrooms with a “future” packaging date of October 30, 2024. The violation caused a lot of concerns regarding the packaging and food safety of the materials being provided by Zomato to the restaurants and food chains.
CEO Of Zomato Responds To The Error
Looking at the online reactions, the CEO of Zomato took it upon himself to come forward and clarify the situation. On November 4, 2024, Deepinder Goyal posted on X, writing, “Hello all - 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. This is not usual and was due to a manual typing error on the vendor’s side.”
He further added, “Still, the concerned vendor has been delisted from our database. At Hyperpure, we have stringent inward guidelines and tech systems that helped our teams 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, highest benchmark in their ranking.”
Deepinder Goyal’s prompt and transparent response reflects a larger trend among tech-driven food companies to adopt proactive communication and reinforce trust with consumers, even in the face of potential setbacks.