FSSAI Issues Nine Notices to Swiggy Instamart Over Food Safety Complaints

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued nine notices to Swiggy Instamart after multiple consumer complaints regarding violations of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The regulator says complaints are about the alleged supply of expired, spoilt, rotten, contaminated and otherwise unsafe food products through the quick commerce platform.

Some of the issues referred to in the notices included allegations of eggs sold under the brand name “NOICE” being sold under a brand name not covered under the approved product categories of the current FSSAI licence. The regulator told the Food Business Operator (FBO) not to market the product unless it is covered by a valid licence and advised it to seek modification of the licence if necessary.

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Consumer Complaints:

The notices also highlighted complaints about delivery of products such as Healthify 100% Whey Protein 1 kg and Noice Homestyle Madras Mixture with Peanuts past their expiry dates.

FSSAI also cited complaints about Akshayakalpa Organic Egg which consumers claimed was expired, rotten and contaminated, and Kakke da Paratha which was said to be spoilt and not fit for consumption. In both cases, the complainants claimed that no effective corrective action was taken after they escalated the matter, the regulator said.

Another complaint was for an infant food formula that was supposedly delivered to a customer in a degraded and unsafe condition, with signs of contamination and improper storage. The notices said the same product was supplied again even after the defective item was returned.

The regulator also said it had received complaints of contaminated eggs and milk, damaged packed food products, incorrect, invalid or non-existent FSSAI licence numbers, and food business entities listed under names different from their registrations.

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Compliance Review:

Many complainants have said that even after raising the issue, they did not get grievance redressal to their satisfaction, FSSAI said. In one case, the platform allegedly only refunded the money and did not address the food safety concern raised.

The regulator also raised concerns regarding seller onboarding procedures, compliance verification, product traceability, food quality monitoring, consumer grievance handling, supervision of food business activities and the effectiveness of food safety compliance systems.

FSSAI has directed the Food Business Operator to submit a detailed response supported by documentary evidence, including information on its quality assurance processes, food safety monitoring systems, inventory management, stock rotation, hygiene, storage and handling practices, and internal controls.