Mint Explainer | What the datura episode says about food safety in online grocery

Has this happened for the first time?

The datura episode appears unusually serious, but there are precedents for online grocery/quick-commerce platforms being found with unsafe, expired, misbranded or non-compliant food products. In November 2025, Telangana food-safety officials inspected 75 warehouses operated by platforms such as Zepto, Blinkit, BigBasket, Swiggy Instamart, Amazon, and Flipkart. They seized 1,903 units of expired or misbranded food products and discarded stale cooked food and rotten vegetables. Last year, FSSAI met over 70 e-commerce food businesses and ordered them to strengthen food safety and hygiene practices. The Bureau of Indian Standards raided Amazon and Flipkart warehouses and seized products that lacked mandatory quality certification or bore allegedly fake labels.