Following a rise in complaints about food products sold online, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has released a thorough guideline for foodtech platforms. Aiming to improve customer safety and guarantee the integrity of food goods offered through meal delivery and rapid commerce platforms, the new guidelines were introduced on Tuesday, December 3.
To increase food safety, foodtech platforms need to implement the five main recommendations in the guideline. These include product claims alignment, FSSAI licensing and registration, separate delivery of food and non-food items, training for delivery executives, shelf life regulations, and hygiene ratings.
The significance of teaching last-mile delivery workers appropriate food safety and hygiene procedures will be highlighted by the FSSAI's new standards. In order to prevent contamination, this training should emphasise proper food handling, transportation, and sanitation practices in addition to maintaining personal hygiene.
Foodtech platforms are directed to make sure that food and non-food items are delivered separately in order to avoid cross-contamination. Additionally, the FSSAI has mandated that foodtech platforms show the FSSAI licence or registration numbers of the vendors they include. This guarantees that all vendors adhere to food safety laws.
To guarantee that all product claims correspond with the data on the product's actual label, quick commerce solutions are necessary. The FSSAI has threatened to take regulatory action against platforms that make false or unsupported claims, and unsubstantiated assertions are forbidden. Food products must have at least 30% of their shelf life left when they are delivered, or at least 45 days before they expire, according to FSSAI regulations. Platforms must also clearly disclose hygiene ratings so that customers can make well-informed selections about what to buy.
Following a number of food safety issues involving foodtech businesses, these additional regulations were implemented. Incorrectly labelled products were discovered during a recent FSSAI inspection at Zomato's Hyperpure warehouse in Hyderabad. Other occurrences, like the discovery of a finger in ice cream that was ordered from Zepto, have also raised concerns about the safety standards in the online food delivery sector.
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