FSSAI Eyes Tighter Quick Commerce Rules For Expiry Dates, Food Labelling

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is considering dedicated regulations for ecommerce platforms, including quick commerce players, and cloud kitchens to tighten food safety compliance and product disclosures.

The proposed rules would require online food listings to display manufacturing and expiry dates and batch numbers, and hold platforms accountable for misleading claims made by manufacturers, Bloomberg reported. The regulator is also considering mandatory disclosure of cloud kitchen photographs and addresses

FSSAI CEO Rajit Punhani told ET that the regulator has held consultations with ecommerce and quick commerce companies and started inspecting dark stores and cloud kitchens.

“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 said.

The regulator is also considering stricter checks on dark store storage conditions, including the handling of frozen products, as per the Bloomberg report.

The proposed changes come amid increased scrutiny of quick commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart over their failure to display essential product information, including expiry, best-before and use-by dates.

While platforms often mention a product’s shelf life, consumers may not know its actual expiry date or batch number before placing an order.

The proposed ecommerce rules are part of the FSSAI’s broader crackdown on food safety and labelling violations. Prosecutions involving ecommerce companies have risen at least five- to sixfold over the past year, Punhani said, adding that platforms were improving compliance but not at the expected pace.

Wider Food Safety Crackdown

The scrutiny extends to food manufacturers and their labelling practices. The FSSAI has issued notices to more than 150 food and beverage makers, including Nestle, PepsiCo, Dabur, ITC, Ferrero, Danone, Red Bull, and Abbott, over allegedly incorrect or misleading ingredient claims and other labelling violations.

“We are doing nothing wrong; we are just implementing the regulations,” Punhani said, adding that large companies should lead by example and avoid misleading claims and advertisements.

Alongside action over existing labelling requirements, the FSSAI is pursuing front-of-pack warning labels for packaged foods. The  regulator proposed red, hexagonal labels displaying the amounts of nutrients such as sugar, salt, and saturated fat in an affidavit filed with the Supreme Court.

Separately, PepsiCo, Reliance Consumer Products, and Monster Beverage have challenged the FSSAI notices in court. The companies recently secured procedural relief after a court found that they had not been given adequate opportunity to respond or present their cases to the regulator.

Punhani expressed confidence in the FSSAI’s position, telling Bloomberg, “They are resisting but we are far stronger and we have consumer support.”

The regulator is also scrutinising supplements and nutraceuticals sold online. It is reviewing approvals granted three to five years ago to determine whether companies are making claims beyond those cleared by it. It plans to issue notices and suspend licences where it finds violations. 

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