NEW DELHI: Expired green peas, Greek yoghurt and brownies, flies, mosquitoes and even a lizard were found at food storage facilities operated by online food delivery and retail companies in Delhi during an enforcement drive ahead of the festival season, officials said on Saturday.Inspections by the Delhi government’s Food Safety Department also found unhygienic storage, inadequate pest control and failures to maintain prescribed temperatures at several premises.Chief minister Rekha Gupta has directed officials to tighten monitoring of markets, food storage facilities and establishments supplying food products.“Inspections revealed lapses in maintaining required temperatures at several premises. Of the 59 desi ghee samples tested, 19 were found to be unsafe while four failed to meet food safety standards. Action is being taken in accordance with rules based on deficiencies identified,” an official statement said.According to the Chief Minister’s Office, inspections at a food company’s premises in Uttam Nagar revealed expired frozen green peas, Greek yoghurt, eggless chocolate-chip brownies and cow ghee products.At another company’s premises in Wazirpur Industrial Area, officials found flies, mosquitoes and a lizard, along with spider webs.The premises also lacked a cleaning schedule and the corresponding checklist, the statement said.At a major online food aggregator’s premises in Daryaganj, officials found dirty crates and dust in food storage areas. Rat traps had not been placed at appropriate locations, and their number was inadequate, it added.At the aggregator’s Rohini store, officials found no arrangements to segregate food items, raising the risk of cross-contamination.Food samples were also collected during the inspections, and improvement notices were issued to the establishments concerned, officials said.(With inputs from PTI)
