Blue Apron Failed To Get A California Processed Registration For Three Years

Is the era of the subscription meal kit coming to an end? First, data found that 90 percent of customers drop the service after six months and, now, an investigation by BuzzFeed has found that Blue Apron's California facilities failed to get a state-processed food registration and was only registered a month ago. Blue Apron claims its facilities have always been compliant with state standards, but it continued to operate — packing and shipping boxes of fresh produce and raw fish, poultry, and meat to customers all over the country — without a license to do so.

"We have always proactively sought to ensure that we maintain the necessary permits, have passed all facility inspections we've ever been part of, and have cooperated with all directives from regulatory authorities having jurisdiction over us," Blue Apron told BuzzFeed in a statement.

Although the Blue Apron facility had already been registered with Contra Costa County Health Services and was regularly being inspected, the scope of operations at the Richmond, California, facility were too much for a county health department to handle, and the company should have been registered with the state.

A spokesperson from the California Health Department told BuzzFeed that the Blue Apron facilities did not have any outstanding health or sanitation issues. The company is currently in good standing, according to the state.