E-commerce is the next big target for FSSAI, CEO Rajit Punhani said, adding, "We are trying to tighten and make them accountable." The wishlist includes making online listings display manufacturing and expiry dates plus batch numbers, and holding platforms accountable when manufacturers' claims mislead shoppers. Officials are also considering mandating that listings include images and the location details of dark kitchens, while stepping up scrutiny of dark stores to verify that storage - frozen goods included - is handled correctly.
These moves could reshape India's roughly $80 billion online retail market, where Redseer Strategy Consultants estimates groceries make up as much as 51% of sales.
Enforcement has picked up through investigations, including those spurred by consumer complaints, followed by penalties where violations turned up. Authorities have cited Eternal Ltd.'s Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Walmart Inc.-owned Flipkart and the India arm of Amazon.com Inc. for issues ranging from misbranding and selling prohibited products to operating with invalid licenses. In July, Instamart said it was reviewing listings flagged by FSSAI and was engaging with authorities to resolve them. Amazon said it runs a platform on which independent third-party sellers post and sell goods, and that it takes down items that don't comply, adding: "We confirm that the said product is no longer available on our marketplace."
Food labelling rules reshape an entire consumer category. Market Briefs covers regulation free every morning.
The crackdown is bigger than apps. FSSAI has intensified oversight of food manufacturers as well as hotels and restaurants, examining advertising, product-claim practices, infant-nutrition marketing, labeling and storage. Companies such as Nestle India Ltd., PepsiCo and Dabur India Ltd., along with hotel brands like JW Marriott, have been called out for violations. Punhani also pressed state-level food and drug enforcement bodies - which operate independently of FSSAI - to intensify their monitoring.
On supplements and nutraceuticals, especially those sold online, the regulator is rechecking approvals from three to five years ago to see if companies are using claims they were not cleared to make. "We are vetting them," Punhani said, noting that weight-loss claims are not permitted. Last week, FSSAI took action against the joint venture of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. and Nestle India for misleading claims. The agency is also reviewing trademarks like "GLP Plus" that could give consumers a wrong impression, and has raised the matter with India's trademark authorities.
Punhani said prosecutions involving e-commerce companies have climbed at least five to six times over the past year, and that platforms "are gradually improving, but not at the pace that they should." Between April and September, inspections nearly doubled from a year earlier to about 700,000, and regulators logged 15,000 raids, 2,300 licenses suspended, 900 establishments sealed, 914 police cases, 1,267 arrests and 3,500 criminal proceedings. Maharashtra has mounted the most visible campaign, with reform-minded bureaucrat Tukaram Mundhe overhauling the enforcement strategy of the state Food and Drug Administration. Officials in Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, and West Bengal have likewise increased inspections of restaurants, producers and quick-commerce players.
Staffing remains a challenge because states perform most inspections. At the same time, large companies are pushing back: PepsiCo Inc., Reliance Consumer Products Ltd. and Monster Beverage Corp. have challenged FSSAI notices in court and won an early procedural ruling that they lacked sufficient chance to respond or put forth their case. Punhani is unfazed. "They are resisting but we are far stronger and we have consumer support," he said.
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