New Delhi, July 11 (IANS). The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued nine notices to quick commerce platform Swiggy Instamart based on consumer complaints. The food regulator said on Saturday that in these complaints, allegations have been made about supply of expired, rotten, spoiled, contaminated and unsafe food products for human consumption.
FSSAI, while sharing a post on social media platform X, said that several serious irregularities came to light during the investigation. One of the major issues was that eggs were being sold under a brand name which was not covered under the product category approved in the company’s existing FSSAI license.
The authority has directed the Food Business Operators (FBOs) to immediately stop the sale of such products till they get a valid license and if necessary, apply for amendment of the license.
The notice also mentions that complaints have been received about products like ‘Healthify 100 percent Whey Protein 1 kg’ and ‘Noise Homestyle Madras Mixture with Peanuts’ being supplied to customers even after the expiry date.
Further, a complaint was received in respect of ‘Akshaykalp Organic Egg’ that the egg was expired, rotten, foul smelling and showing signs of infection, rendering it completely unfit for human consumption.
Similarly, a complaint was also lodged that ‘Kakka Da Paratha’ was spoiled and smelly, due to which it was considered unfit for consumption.
FSSAI also alleged that despite the complaint being lodged and escalated, the food business operator did not take any effective corrective action.
In another case, a ready-to-eat food product for babies was found to be in poor and unsafe condition. Not only this, there is an allegation of the same product being supplied again even after the customer returns the defective product.
The food safety regulator has sought a detailed explanation from Swiggy Instamart on all these alleged violations and their reasons. The company has also been asked to provide information about its food safety management system, quality control system, corrective steps taken and measures taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.
FSSAI has directed that the company submit its response and compliance report within the stipulated time limit. If this is not done, appropriate legal action can be taken under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
–IANS
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