Drop eateries without valid licences: FSDA to food delivery apps

LUCKNOW: Following the directives of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) Lucknow has ordered online aggregators such as Kaka, Swiggy, Zomato, Food Panda and Uber Eats to not deliver food from restaurants that don’t have valid licences from local authorities.

The Food Safety and Drug Administration has directed the aggregators to remove such restaurants from their online platforms that don’t possess local FSDA and municipal licences.

Designated officer, FSDA Lucknow, TR Rawat, said,“These companies will have to follow the directives or we will initiate legal action against them. They could be penalised with a fine of Rs 2 lakh and a ban on their business. However, FSDA is waiting for a few more days before acting against them.”

The food aggregators were given 14 days to implement the FSDA’s directives.

However, the deadline ended on July 31.

“We are still giving them time to follow orders. Distributing items of eateries that don’t have FSDA and municipal licences is not permissible under the law. In case of food poisoning or any other adverse incident, companies distributing these food items will also be held responsible,” said the officer.

According to the data available with the FSDA, local restaurants, eateries and caterers get around 30-40% of their business through online orders.

“Maintaining the highest quality in food items is the motive behind this step, besides bringing all eateries and restaurants under the observation of the FSDA,” he said.

“The aggregators have been advised to also promote food hygiene among restaurants. In addition, they have been directed to display the licences of their food partners on their boards,” said Rawat.

“According to our reports, around 30-40% of city restaurants and hotels do not have FSSAI or local licences. If they are still doing business, it is a violation of norms,” he added.

The officer said that food aggregator companies are fundrich and they should use their resources to train the staff of their clients.

“This will promote both good business practices as well as the safety of customers,” he said.