Significant Update

The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) has urged the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to prescribe minimum storage-space requirements for quick-commerce dark stores based on the number of products they handle.

AICPDF proposes space norms based on SKUs

In a letter to Union Health Minister J P Nadda, the federation proposed calculating the minimum floor area at 0.35–0.40 sq ft per stock-keeping unit (SKU). Under this formula, a dark store handling 65,000 SKUs would require approximately 23,000–26,000 sq ft of floor space. According to AICPDF, the proposed space would allow adequate room for storage racks, aisles, receiving and dispatch, picking and packing, product inspection, sanitation, ventilation, pest-control access and emergency movement.

The federation claimed that some dark stores currently stock 60,000–70,000 SKUs in congested premises, potentially creating food-safety risks such as unsafe stacking, inadequate ventilation, poor cleaning and pest control, and insufficient segregation of food and non-food products. It also raised concerns about facilities operating from poorly insulated tin-sheet structures, where excessive heat could affect temperature-sensitive foods and increase the risk of food deterioration.

Congestion and temperature control raise food-safety concerns

AICPDF has asked FSSAI to validate its proposed methodology and establish an expert committee comprising regulators, food technologists, warehousing specialists, public health experts, consumer representatives and industry stakeholders.

The federation also cited media reports claiming that the Maharashtra FDA inspected 86 establishments and suspended 14 food business licences linked to Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart. The reported violations included issues related to storage, temperature control, cleanliness, pest management and worker hygiene.

AICPDF also referred to a viral video that allegedly showed a rat inside an ice-cream storage crate at a Blinkit outlet in Kalyan. AICPDF national president Dhairyashil H Patil stressed that while quick commerce is built around 10-minute deliveries, food safety requires adequate time and safeguards. He said consumers should not have to inspect product dates, packaging or storage conditions themselves.

Calls for tighter oversight of quick-commerce dark stores

The federation has also called for a separate regulatory chapter for quick-commerce dark stores under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.

Among its other recommendations, AICPDF proposed that each licence specify the approved storage area and maximum SKU capacity. It also sought surprise inspections, temperature and humidity monitoring, digital inventory records, annual audits and penalties for exceeding approved storage capacity. The proposals come as quick-commerce platforms expand their network of dark stores and handle increasingly large product inventories. For food safety, AICPDF argues, faster delivery should not come at the expense of adequate storage, hygiene and handling conditions.

Source: The Times of India