The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is preparing stricter regulations for quick-commerce and e-commerce platforms, including Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Amazon Now, to strengthen food safety compliance and hold online retailers accountable. FSSAI Chief Executive Officer Rajit Punhani said the regulator is focusing on e-commerce as part of a nationwide crackdown on unsafe food practices.
The proposed measures could require online platforms to display manufacturing and expiry dates and batch numbers on food product listings, while taking greater responsibility for misleading claims made by manufacturers. FSSAI is also considering requirements for photographs and addresses of dark kitchens, alongside stricter inspections of dark stores to verify storage conditions, particularly for frozen products.
The regulator has intensified enforcement against major platforms, including Blinkit, Instamart, Flipkart and Amazon’s Indian unit, over alleged violations such as misbranding, the sale of prohibited products and invalid licences. Prosecutions involving e-commerce companies have increased five- to sixfold over the past year, according to Punhani, who said compliance was improving but not quickly enough. The proposed measures could significantly affect India’s $80 billion online retail market, where groceries account for up to 51% of sales, according to Redseer Strategy Consultants.
FSSAI’s broader enforcement drive also covers food manufacturers, hotels and restaurants, with scrutiny extending to advertising, product claims, labelling, infant-product marketing and food storage. Punhani said state food and drug enforcement agencies should strengthen their oversight as well. Between April and September, regulatory authorities conducted approximately 700,000 inspections, nearly double the number recorded during the same period a year earlier.
