The Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed quick commerce players, e-commerce platforms and online sellers to strictly comply with expiry date and labelling regulations and cautioned them against making misleading claims. It also emphasised on the implementation of food safety regulations throughout the entire supply chain, including in storage, transportation, logistics and handling of food products by delivery personnel. The regulator said that e-commerce food business operators “must adhere to all the requisite standards.”

A meeting was chaired by FSSAI CEO on Tuesday, which saw significant participation of over 200 representatives of quick-commerce platforms, e-commerce platforms as well as other stakeholders such as online sellers. This development comes at a time when quick-commerce platforms are increasingly being preferred for buying food products and grocery in urban regions and concerns about food safety violations by online platforms have also been gaining ground.

Minimum shelf life

Addressing concerns about near-expiry date products being sold on quick commerce platforms, FSSAI has directed quick commerce and e-commerce players to ensure that “minimum shelf life of 30 per cent or 45 days before expiry at the time of delivery to the consumer.” The food regulator has also emphasised that expiry date or best before date must be clearly visible on the packaging of the food products sold through the online platforms.

Sources said FSSAI officials also expressed serious concerns about various misleading claims, especially health-related claims made regarding food products sold on online platforms. The regulator has also warned that e-commerce and quick commerce platforms and online sellers will face action if found to be in violation of labelling and display regulations by making unsupported claims, mislabelling or making misleading claims.

Regulatory compliances

Emphasising on regulatory compliances, the food safety authority also stated that no e-commerce food business operator can operate without a valid FSSAI license or registration.

“FSSAI CEO clarified that any product claims made on e-commerce platforms must align with the information provided on the product labels and in adherence to FSSAI’s labelling and display regulations,” an official statement added.

The food safety regulator also instructed quick-commerce and e-commerce platforms to provide proper training to food delivery personnel on essential food safety and hygiene protocols. It also stressed that these platforms must ensure that food and non-food products are delivered separately to avoid potential contamination.

FSSAI is also planning to formulate a set of guidelines in the form of standard operatingprocedure for quick commerce and e-commerce players to ensure compliance with food safety norms across the entire supply chain. This will be finalised after consultations with stakeholders and experts in the scientific panels.

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