FSSAI directs online platforms to deliver food items with minimum 45 day shelf life
New Delhi, Nov 12: Amid rising consumer complaints, food regulator FSSAI on Tuesday directed e-commerce players selling food items on their platforms to ensure a minimum shelf life of 30 per cent or 45 days before expiry, at the time of delivery to customers.
According to an official statement, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) convened a meeting with e-commerce Food Business operators (FBOs) to reinforce compliance requirements for e-commerce FBOs.
"The (FSSAI) CEO asked the e-commerce FBOs to adopt practices to ensure minimum shelf life of 30 per cent or 45 days before expiry at the time of delivery to the consumer," the statement said.
Rao, who chaired the meeting, clarified that any product claims made on e-commerce platforms must align with the information provided on the product labels and in adherence to FSSAI’s Labelling and Display Regulations.
He also cautioned the FBOs against making unsupported claims online.
"This would prevent misleading information and protect consumers’ right to accurate product details," the regulator said.
Rao highlighted the pivotal role of online platforms in protecting consumer health and promoting transparency. He reiterated the mandate that no FBO can operate on any e-commerce platform without a valid FSSAI license or Registration, emphasizing the critical need for regulatory compliance.
In a move to ensure safe food handling at every level, he instructed FBOs to implement proper training programs for delivery personnel, empowering them with essential food safety and hygiene protocols.
Additionally, Rao emphasized the importance of delivering food items and non-food items separately to the consumers to avoid potential contamination.
In his concluding remarks, the CEO, FSSAI underscored the need for all e-commerce FBOs to adhere to food safety standards diligently.
He emphasized that a transparent, compliant, and accountable e-commerce food sector is vital for protecting consumer health and fostering confidence in digital food marketplaces.
The session was attended by over 200 participants joined both physically and virtually from across the country, underscoring the significant commitment to strengthening food safety standards within the e-commerce sector.
Earlier this month, the FSSAI asked state authorities to increase surveillance in warehouses of e-commerce operators and issue standard operating procedures (SoPs) for delivery personnel to ensure safe food to consumers.
In its 45th Central Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting on November 7, States and Union Territories were urged to ramp up surveillance at popular tourist destinations to ensure heightened safety standards in preparation for the peak tourist season from November through March.
Rao had asked "Food Commissioners of various states to step up surveillance on warehouses and other facilities utilised by e-commerce platforms."
He also asked for SOPs to be issued for such warehouses, as well as delivery personnel of these platforms.
"States/UTs were asked to increase surveillance samples and were also asked to deploy Food Safety on Wheels mobile vans for this purpose," the regulator said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Wayanad LS bypoll: Priyanka crosses lead achieved by Rahul in 2024 Lok Sabha polls
Wayanad (Kerala) (PTI): Top Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was on Saturday comfortably cruising towards her maiden electoral win from Wayanad in Kerala, as she surpassed the lead achieved by her brother Rahul Gandhi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls earlier this year with party leaders and ally IUML predicting a big win for her amid the counting trends.
The Congress-led UDF's candidate from this hill constituency, Priyanka, extended her lead by over 3.8 lakh votes after five hours of counting of the ballots in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, according to the Election Commission.
Reacting to the lead achieved by Priyanka, Congress' ally Indian Union Muslim League and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said she would get more votes than her brother Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha polls in April this year and will win by a record margin.
"An amazing first trend on counting day is the massive early lead for our leader @priyankagandhi ji in Wayanad, Kerala, by-election. People of Wayanad are surely going to record in victory margins today and Priyanka ji will make Parliamentary debut with a grand win," Reddy said in a post on 'X'.
IUML supremo Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said that going by the trends, Priyanka will get more votes than what Rahul got and the majority she achieves would also be higher than that of her brother.
A similar view was expressed by IUML's national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty.
On the other hand, BJP leader Anil K Antony, earlier in the day, had claimed that though Priyanka has achieved a good lead, her victory margin would be less than what Rahul got in the 2024 and 2019 LS polls in the hill constituency.
According to the latest EC figures, Priyanka had a lead of 3,82,975 with 5,78,526 votes. LDF's Sathyan Mokeri was behind her with 1,95,551 votes and NDA's Navya Haridas was in the third spot with 1,04,947 votes.
Rahul had got 6,47,445 votes and won by a margin of 3,64,422 votes against his nearest rival, CPI's Annie Raja, in the LS polls this year. In 2019, he had got 7,06,367 votes and had won by a margin of 4,31,770 votes.
After winning from Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh as well, in this year's polls, Rahul vacated the Wayanad seat, and the party nominated his sister Priyanka, paving the way for her electoral debut.
The bypoll turnout in Wayanad, which has over 14 lakh registered voters, was around 65 per cent, a decline from the close to 74 per cent in the LS polls held in April this year and much lower than the over 80 per cent turnout in the hill constituency in the 2019 general elections.
The counting of votes commenced at 8 am with postal ballots being taken up first.
The strong rooms, where the EVMs were kept, were opened more than an hour before counting began.
The bypoll for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat was held on November 13.
Of the 16 candidates who contested, the main contenders are Priyanka, ruling CPI(M)-led LDF's Sathyan Mokeri, a political veteran, and BJP-headed NDA's Navya Haridas.
