FSSAI begins penal action against Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, Flipkart India and Zepto over food listings

New Delhi, Sep 23 (PTI) Food regulator FSSAI on Wednesday said it has initiated penal action against e-commerce platforms Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, Flipkart India and Zepto for various non-compliances, including misleading claims and sale of prohibited products.

In a social media post, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) informed that it has launched a "major crackdown on e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, Flipkart India and Zepto over regulatory non-compliances".

The non-compliances include misbranding/misleading claims, as well as sale and display of prohibited/poisonous food articles, it added.

FSSAI has initiated penal action against five leading e-commerce platforms, Amazon, Flipkart India, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and BigBasket, for misleading claims related to food product 'Happilo Premium Date Bites - Zesty Orange'.

In the case of Swiggy Instamart and BigBasket, FSSAI has started action due to misleading claims and non-compliant product information related to some dairy products of Milky Mist.

These products are 'Milky Mist Fresh Low Fat Cream, Milky Mist Farm Fresh Curd, and Milky Mist Greek Yoghurt'.

Amazon Seller Services, Swiggy Instamart and BigBasket were found to be non-compliant with applicable provisions of the FSS Act, 2006 relating to sale, display and offer for sale through e-commerce platforms for food product 'Datura (Dhatura) fruits/seeds'.

Email queries sent to these platforms elicited no immediate response.

In the last six months, FSSAI has stepped up enforcement actions against food business operators (FBOs) and e-commerce companies. It has also been informing about these actions to consumers at large through social media platforms.