Mumbai: Soon, online food delivery agents in Maharashtra will have to be registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as it will help the authority gather primary information about the former and the state of their health.
According to FDA officials, the food delivery boys will have to pay Rs 100 for the registration, which will be valid for one year. Food delivery agents will have to carry their registration with them whenever they are on the job. “This move is to ensure no infectious disease is passed on due to incorrect handling practices. Keeping consumer safety in mind, we have directed them to get registered with immediate effect,” said an official.
Recently, the FDA had suspended the licences of several eateries listed with online food delivery portals, for cooking food in unhygienic conditions. Dr Pallavi Darade, Maharashtra FDA commissioner said a registered medical practitioner must certify whether a food delivery employee is healthy and is free of disease, to do the job. The FDA is likely to ask for these records at any time.
“We want all online food delivery aggregators to mandatorily facilitate health check-ups of delivery partners and maintain meticulous records. As their job entails handling food and beverages, there is always the chance of diseases being transmitted,” explained Dr Darade.
Officials fear that people directly handling food could in particular, contribute to the spread of diarrhoeal diseases and viral gastroenteritis, besides bacterial and viral infections. Dr Darade said, “Existing food safety rules clearly state these aggregators are obliged to routinely conduct health checks of food handlers.”
A Zomato spokesperson said, “We do take care of the health and safety of our delivery partners very seriously and have introduced various programmes. We also offer life and health insurance benefits above the market standards and will also soon start organising regular health camps for all our delivery partners.”
