Quick commerce has changed how India shops. Groceries and daily essentials now arrive at the door in minutes, and millions of households have built their routines around that promise. But as the sector races ahead, consumer grievances keep piling up — and they raise hard questions about accountability and transparency.
The Campaign: What Shoppers Are Not Being Told
Times Now Digital has been running its ‘E-Comms Hiding Health Info’ campaign to hold platforms including Zepto, Amazon Now, Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit, BigBasket and Flipkart Minutes accountable for failing to display critical product information – manufacturing dates, expiry dates and other mandatory disclosures.
The argument at the heart of the campaign is simple. A shopper in a physical store can pick up a packet and check the date printed on it. A shopper on an app cannot. Online buyers deserve the same information, and the same transparency, before they pay.
Regulators have issued multiple notices to platforms over the past year, and Times Now Digital has put up multiple queries, but E-Comms are just not interested, or so it seems given their reluctance to respond to regular rights-related queries.
What people are posting online suggests the gap has not closed.
What Consumers Are Posting
Recent posts on X point to problems that go well beyond incomplete listings — poor product quality, damaged deliveries, alleged discrepancies in orders and customer support that does not resolve them.
One customer said Zepto delivered rotten bananas and expired pineapple slices, and questioned whether food safety checks and licensing were in place at all. “It’s not about speed of delivery,” the post read, “it has to quality.”
@ZeptoNow Thanks for your quick delivery of rotten bananas and expired pineapple slices.It’s very concerning about the quality, it’s not about speed of delivery it has to quality. I don’t know wheather u have so SoPs checklist and food safety license. pic.twitter.com/sxKN4Oa7Bi
— Alaipayuthey….❤️ (@Kamalesh_mahi) July 21, 2026
Another consumer said an expired product had just been delivered by Zepto, tagged the company’s founder and local authorities, and wrote that “basic SOP are not in place” and that action should follow for expired goods being sold.
@ZeptoNow has delivered expired product just now..basic SOP are not in place..action should be taken for expired goods being sold @Tukaram_IndIAS @aadit_palicha@SunPharma_Live@punekarnews @ThePuneMirror @suneetMT 📍Kharadi #Pune pic.twitter.com/genRXlyRKF
— Amit Rathi (@amitrathi_) July 22, 2026
A third shared photographs of French beans allegedly covered in white and black fungal growth — despite a packet date of 21 July 2026. The customer called it “a serious food-safety and quality-control failure,” asked how the produce had cleared vendor checks and fulfilment inspections, and said a refund alone was not enough.
Absolutely disgusting experience with Zepto. These French beans were delivered visibly covered in white and black fungal growth—even though the packet says it was packed on 21 July 2026.This is not a small freshness issue; it is a serious food-safety and quality-control… pic.twitter.com/DATvCjSdXA
— Mallu Investor (@libinchacko03) July 22, 2026
A fourth said chips ordered on Instamart arrived expired and that the support team offered no help.
These are individual allegations, posted publicly and unverified. Then there are cases shared with us, faced by many of us – similar issues, similar responses, similar neglect. Taken together, they point to a broader concern about quality assurance in a sector that has scaled faster than almost any other in Indian retail.
Notices Have Not Stopped The Complaints
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have both moved to improve transparency in the digital marketplace, issuing advisories and notices to e-commerce platforms.
Yet complaints about expired goods, spoiled produce and unresolved grievances continue to surface. Advisories, on this evidence, have not translated into what arrives at the door.
Accountability Has To Match The Speed
Rotten fruit, mouldy vegetables and out-of-date packaged food are not just bad orders. They raise questions about inventory management, warehouse practice, supplier verification and what actually happens at a fulfilment centre inspection — and about how a platform responds when a customer flags it.
Times Now’s ‘E-Comms Hiding Health Info’ campaign continues to press for stronger accountability, better enforcement of consumer protection norms and full disclosure across quick commerce platforms.
Because the industry has trained an entire country to expect delivery in ten minutes. Speed was the promise but it was said that this speed will come at a cost of safety.
They built a business on knowing exactly what you want, exactly where you are, and exactly when it lands. Everything except what’s inside the packet.
(This report is part of Times Now Digital’s E-Comms Hiding Health Info campaign, which presses e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms to display the product information consumers are legally entitled to see before they buy — manufacturing dates, expiry dates and best-before dates. Follow the series for more on your rights as a shopper — and what to check before you buy online.)
