Zomato CEO Responds to Mushroom Mislabeling Incident: ‘At Hyperpure, We Have Stringent Guidelines…’ – News18

Last Updated:November 04, 2024, 19:47 IST

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal has addressed media reports on mislabeled packets of button mushrooms having a future packaging date at Zomato’s food supply platform, Hyperpure.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal has addressed media reports on mislabeled packets of button mushrooms having a future packaging date at Zomato’s food supply platform, Hyperpure. The incident at a Hyderabad warehouse involved 90 packets with incorrect packaging dates, which Goyal clarified were identified and rejected during the quality control (QC) process before reaching customers. The error, he said, was due to a manual typing error by the vendor, who has since been delisted from Hyperpure’s supplier database.

“These were already identified by our warehouse team and rejected during an inward QC,” Goyal stated, emphasising that this was an isolated incident due to a rare manual error on the vendor’s side. Goyal added that Hyperpure maintains stringent quality protocols and leverages advanced tech systems to ensure product safety at every stage of the supply chain.

“At Hyperpure, we have stringent inward guidelines and tech systems that helped our teams to identify this error in time,” the Zomato CEO said.

In response to the incident, Goyal highlighted the outcome of a recent Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) inspection of Hyperpure’s Hyderabad warehouse. “The recent food safety inspection at our Hyderabad warehouse resulted in the Hyperpure warehouse achieving an A+ rating, highest benchmark in their ranking.”

Despite the company’s robust response and the small scale of the incident — estimated to involve Rs 7,200 worth of mushrooms — Goyal expressed frustration at the media’s reports on the matter. “Maybe some people benefit from the virality which they get at the expense of pulling down the Zomato brand,” he said.

Zomato’s Hyperpure unit has become an essential part of its operations, providing restaurants with high-quality ingredients through a carefully vetted supply chain.