The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Wednesday said it had initiated penal action against five e-commerce platforms for various food safety and regulatory violations, including misleading claims and the sale and display of prohibited products.
Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, Flipkart India and Zepto are among the platforms facing action.
FSSAI Cites Misleading Claims, Prohibited Products
In a post on its official social media handle, the FSSAI said a “major crackdown on e-commerce platforms had been undertaken.”
“Penal action initiated against - Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, Bigbasket, Flipkart India and Zepto,” it said, citing “various food safety and regulatory non-compliances”.
The regulator said the violations included “misbranding/ misleading claims, sale and display of prohibited/ poisonous food articles through e-commerce platforms.”
According to the FSSAI, the action was initiated under the FSS Act, 2006 and applicable FSSAI regulations.
Happilo, Milky Mist Products Under Scanner
The action included misleading claims related to the food product ‘Happilo Premium Date Bites - Zesty Orange’, PTI reported.
The FSSAI also initiated action against Swiggy Instamart and BigBasket over misleading claims and non-compliant product information involving some Milky Mist dairy products. These include Milky Mist Fresh Low Fat Cream, Milky Mist Farm Fresh Curd and Milky Mist Greek Yoghurt.
The regulatory body has stepped up action against food business operators (FBOs) and e-commerce companies over the past six months.
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Nestle India Faces Legal Action
The action against the e-commerce platforms comes days after the food safety regulator said it was taking legal action against Nestle India Ltd.
The FSSAI said a baby food sample had failed to meet quality standards, while two other infant nutrition products had been promoted in violation of rules governing such products. A sample of follow-up formula manufactured by the company was found to be substandard with respect to biotin content during laboratory analysis.
Nestle, however, said its products are “fully compliant with all the applicable regulations”, adding that it would continue to work closely with the FSSAI on the matter.
The company’s shares fell almost 3% following news of the regulatory action before recovering to close nearly flat.
Three Adjudication Cases Filed Against Nestle India
The regulator said it had filed three separate adjudication cases against Nestle India concerning the three products.
A Nestle India spokesperson said the two products cited by the FSSAI for promotional violations, as well as their labels, had been approved by the regulator’s expert committee.
