FSSAI may amend laws to make online players more accountable

NEW DELHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is considering formulating regulations specific to the ecommerce ecosystem, including quick commerce platforms and cloud kitchens, after cracking down on packaged foods and beverages, alcoholic beverages and retail stores, its chief executive Rajit Punhani said. "We've had stakeholder consultations with ecommerce and quick commerce players. We're planning to amend the regulation so that consumers know the manufacturing date, expiry date and batch number of products they're ordering," he told ET in an interview.

The regulator has also started inspections of dark stores of quick commerce firms and cloud kitchens, he said. While platforms often mention a product's shelf life, consumers may not know the actual expiry date or batch number of products before placing an order. The government has been examining complaints accusing quick commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart of failing to display product information, including expiry, best-before and use-by dates.

The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Amendment Rules 2017 requires mentioning 'best before' or 'use by' date, month and year' on food packets. The Central Consumer Protection Authority, after reviewing complaints received through the National Consumer Helpline, sent notices to ecommerce firms in 2024, directing them to display the manufacturing and expiry dates on packs. No regulation was passed at the time amid resistance from platforms. Companies argued it was difficult to display detailed information, including expiry, best-before and use-by dates and batch numbers, for hundreds of thousands of grocery items. Pushback and pressures from Big Food "don't keep me awake at night", Punhani said, responding to a question on whether there was lobbying from large MNCs, especially on front-of-pack labelling for packaged food. It is "unethical for food companies to mislead consumers on labelling", said the IAS officer and IIM-Bangalore alumnus.


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"We are doing nothing wrong; we are just implementing the regulations," he said. "So, we expect, especially big companies, to lead the way in following the regulations. They should be the first to not make misleading claims to consumers or misleading ads. We expect them to be the role models for the smaller companies and startups."

The FSSAI in recent months issued notices to more than 150 food and beverage makers, including Nestle, PepsiCo, Dabur, ITC, Ferrero, Danone, Red Bull and Abbott, on issues ranging from incorrect and misleading labelling claims about ingredients to non-compliances on labelling. "It's not that there are large numbers of violations; they are very few in terms of percentage," Punhani said.

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The regulator is actively moving towards implementing front-of-pack labelling for packaged food, more than a decade after making the initial proposal that faced resistance from global and Indian packaged foods makers and multiple litigations. In a recent affidavit filed at the Supreme Court, FSSAI proposed red, hexagonal front-of-pack warning labels, displaying the amount of nutrients such as sugar, salt and saturated fat in the contents, and is awaiting the court's decision to take the next step.

His focus, Punhani said, was on enforcement. This involved strengthening of the state-level machinery. "I don't see (state) food commissioners under pressure," he said.