The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) plans to introduce rules that would hold e-commerce platforms, including Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Amazon Now, accountable for misleading claims made by food manufacturers. Business Today reported on October 13, citing Bloomberg. “We are trying to tighten and make them accountable,” FSSAI CEO Rajit Punhani told Bloomberg.
“We’re planning to amend the regulation so that consumers know the manufacturing date, expiry date and batch number of products they’re ordering,” Punhani told The Economic Times, according to Inc42.
What would the rules require?
- Listing details: Manufacturing and expiry dates and batch numbers on every food listing. Platforms often display only a product’s shelf life, leaving buyers unaware of the actual expiry date of the item they will receive.
- Misleading claims: Platforms would answer for manufacturers’ misleading claims on products they list.
- Dark kitchens: Mandatory photographs and addresses of dark kitchens.
- Dark stores: Stricter checks on storage conditions, including for frozen products.
FSSAI has consulted e-commerce and quick-commerce companies and started inspecting dark stores and cloud kitchens, Punhani said. FSSAI has not published a draft or a timeline.
Is FSSAI already holding platforms liable?
FSSAI issued show-cause notices to Amazon, Flipkart and Netmeds on October 8, along with manufacturers Dr Reddy’s, Nestle Health Science and Tirupati Wellness, over misleading claims on protein supplements about muscle strength, immunity and energy. It asked them to explain why it should not take action.
- Penal action: FSSAI initiated penal action against Amazon, Instamart, BigBasket, Flipkart and Zepto on September 23 over misleading claims and the sale of prohibited products.
- Licence suspensions: Karnataka’s Food Safety and Drug Administration suspended the food licences of Amazon, BigBasket and Instamart in August after finding poisonous Datura fruits and seeds listed as food, treating the platforms themselves as food business operators.
- Supply chain liability: FSSAI warned more than 70 e-commerce representatives in July 2025 that every entity in the supply chain carries food safety liability.
What about the marketplace defence?
Platforms have argued they only host third-party sellers. Amazon told Bloomberg it operates as a marketplace where independent sellers list products, and that it removes non-compliant products. Blinkit, however, acts as the legal seller of record for nearly 90% of its orders, as we reported in June.
Products flagged by FSSAI have sometimes remained on sale despite regulatory notices. After FSSAI issued notices to 14 direct-to-consumer food brands for misleading claims on June 14, most of the flagged products remained on Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart with the same claims. A consumer affairs panel later said that mislabelled packaged food sold online falls exclusively under FSSAI’s jurisdiction, outside the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.
How has enforcement changed?
Prosecutions involving e-commerce companies have increased fivefold to sixfold over the past year, Punhani said. Regulators carried out about 7 lakh inspections between April and September, nearly double the number a year earlier. The companies are “gradually improving, but not at the pace that they should,” he said.
State regulators have also raided dark stores. Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration suspended the licence of a Blinkit facility in Malad over hygiene violations in August. The Telangana Standards Authority for Food and Essential Drugs (TG SAFE) suspended the licences of four Instamart, Flipkart and Zepto dark stores in Hyderabad on September 30, after finding expired food and evidence of pest infestation.
Also read:
- Who is liable for spoiled food on quick-commerce apps? FSSAI sends notice to Blinkit‘
- FSSAI: E-Commerce Platforms Could Face Severe Action Over Food Safety Non-Compliance
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