Sale of spoiled, rotten, expired items…FSSAI sent 9 notices to Swiggy Instamart, people buying goods online should be careful
Delhi. The country’s leading food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has taken major action against the quick-commerce platform ‘Swiggy Instamart’. FSSAI has issued nine (9) legal notices to Swiggy Instamart after receiving several serious complaints from customers regarding supply of rotten, contaminated and expired food products. FSSAI is strict on selling expired goods, has issued 9 notices to Swiggy Instamart. The regulator has taken this step under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and has asked the company to submit a detailed clarification and compliance report on these matters. If this is not done, a warning has also been given to initiate appropriate legal action.
Serious complaint about re-sending of baby food
FSSAI has shared the details of the complaints while sharing information about this action on the social media platform ‘X’ (Twitter). According to the authority, the most serious case involved a baby food product: The customer complained that the product was delivered in a grossly spoiled, contaminated and unsafe condition.
There were clear signs of improper storage and maintenance. The most shocking allegation is that even after the customer returned the contaminated product, it was allegedly shipped back to the same customer. Additionally, consumers have also filed complaints of spoiled eggs, contaminated milk and damaged packaged food items being supplied through Swiggy Instamart.
Vendors were operating without FSSAI license
The regulator’s investigation also revealed major deficiencies in the onboarding and verification of vendors on Swiggy Instamart’s platform, where in some cases the FSSAI license numbers of vendors listed on the app were incorrect, invalid or non-existent. Many food businesses (FBOs) were listed on the app under names different from their original FSSAI registration name. Even after raising the complaint, no satisfactory response or corrective action was taken by the platform. In some cases, food safety concerns were shrugged off by simply offering refunds instead of addressing them.
swiggy instamart side
Responding to this entire controversy and regulatory notice, Swiggy Instamart spokesperson said, “We are internally reviewing all the products and complaints flagged by FSSAI. Our team is in constant touch with the concerned authorities for a quick and appropriate resolution of this matter.”
FSSAI’s strict stance regarding food safety
In recent times, FSSAI has tightened the rules against companies playing with the health of consumers. These notices have been issued taking suo motu cognizance on the basis of complaints received from consumers on social media and official channels. Earlier, the regulator has also issued a notice to many energy drink manufacturing companies, alcoholic beverage (alcohol) companies and other quick-delivery apps and issued a strict warning.
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