Karnataka FDA seals Zepto warehouse in Bengaluru
Karnataka's food safety department has sealed a Zepto warehouse in Hoskote over labelling, misbranding and hygiene violations, one day after the Maharashtra FDA suspended a Blinkit dark store licence in Mumbai.
- The Food Safety Division of Karnataka's Food Safety and Drug Administration Department sealed a Zepto warehouse in Bengaluru's Hoskote, citing 3 categories of violation: non-compliant product labelling, misbranding, and unhygienic food storage and handling.
- A notice was issued to the warehouse and the department has recommended that a case be filed before the concerned adjudicating officer. The facility is run in partnership with logistics firm Nippon Express.
- It is the second quick commerce enforcement action in 2 days, after the Maharashtra FDA suspended a Blinkit dark store licence in Malad West under Section 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
- Zepto's FY26 net loss widened to Rs 5,095 Cr from Rs 4,697 Cr, while operating revenue nearly doubled to Rs 22,624 Cr.
The Food Safety Division of Karnataka’s Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has sealed a Zepto warehouse in Hoskote, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Inspectors flagged non-compliant product labelling, misbranding, and unhygienic food storage and handling conditions. The department issued a notice to the warehouse and recommended that a case be filed before the concerned adjudicating officer for further legal action.
The report describes the site as a large warehouse rather than a dark store. Zepto operates it in partnership with Nippon Express, handling storage and distribution of food, FMCG and household goods. The inspection was carried out under the guidance of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister UT Khader. Zepto said routine food safety inspections are conducted by authorities across the country, that it cooperated fully with the inspection, and that it is taking steps to address the observations shared.
The action lands a day after zane.marketing reported the Maharashtra FDA suspending the licence of a Blinkit dark store in Malad West under Section 32(3) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The two actions are not the same thing. A suspension under Section 32(3) follows a failure to comply with an improvement notice and stops the operator trading at that site until it is lifted. A sealing physically closes the premises and locks the stock inside from the moment inspectors leave. One is a paper action with a compliance path attached. The other is the immediate loss of a node and everything in it.
Two platforms, two states, two days. The operator read is that state food safety departments are now inspecting quick commerce storage nodes directly rather than looking at the app. Brand stock sits inside infrastructure whose labelling checks, storage conditions and FIFO discipline the brand does not control, and a sealing removes those SKUs from that catchment with no notice period.
Two things are worth doing this week. Ask each quick commerce partner for the city level list of nodes holding your stock, not just a fulfilment percentage. And confirm whose licence your label sits under, because misbranding findings attach to the label owner as readily as to the warehouse operator.
Zane’s analysis draws on original reporting by Inc42. Read the original report.