Now food safety scanners to control ecommerce as well?

The FSSAI has directed leading ecommerce companies to register under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act of 2006 to continue with their food deliveries.

The FSSAI has said,

“The online distribution channel has been neglected in regard to food safety. It has been noted that online shops are not necessarily subjected to inspection since sampling and analysis is often complicated as the provisions in FSS Act cannot be completely fulfilled in such business operations.”

Details to be displayed clearly

The FSSAI has instructed online grocery stores including Grofers, Peppertap and BigBasket to display details such as name address and license of the seller, food and nutrition details, and prices. They can only deal with licensed dealers who are registered Food Business Operators (FBO).

Other leading companies like Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal also deal with food delivery. These companies have to register themselves under the FSSAI to be compliant with the law. Will they get some grace time to get things in order? “They already fall under the FSS Act 2006, so ideally they should follow the provisions immediately,” says Ashish Bahuguna, chairman of FSSAI.

Customer safety is paramount on the reasons behind the overnight awakening of the FSSAI. It is clearly not going to be an overnight task for the ecommerce companies, who will be running around to get registered. An ecommerce insider said under condition of anonymity,

“To make sure all the sellers are FSSAI registered and licensed is a massive and complex process.”

The summer is hotting up for ecommerce companies with authorities taking turns to point out legal irregularities. While it is absolutely important to be within the law, sudden u-turns will surely catch companies off guard. The ecommerce industry is contributing to the collective economy of the country, and rather than providing support, if they are hounded by various departments, India’s online sellers will find it extremely difficult.