India, Feb. 27 -- The state food and drug administration (FDA) will begin mandatory surprise inspections of dark stores and warehouses operated by quick commerce companies; food and drug administration minister Narhari Zirwal on Thursday informed the legislative assembly. The announcement came on the back of a discussion between members about allegedly expired food items being sold on quick commerce platforms.

MLAs Bhimrao Tapkir, Siddharth Shirole, Amit Deshmukh and Ajay Chaudhari flagged the lack of proactive monitoring of quick commerce platforms, pointing out that inspections were usually conducted only after complaints were received. The members also raised concerns about storage conditions inside 'dark stores' or small warehouses....