The Steps

Step 1: Open the Food Safety Connect online portal or download the Food Safety Connect app from Google Play store/application store and open the app.

Link to the FSSAI portal to file a complaint related to any food item: https :// food lic en sing.fssai. gov.in/cmsweb/

Step 2: Identify the food complaint category and click on it. Your complaint can be related to either packaged food or food premises.

Step 3: Identify the outlet or the product brand name and provide address of the seller/outlet of the product, and submit the complaint with a picture of the food item.

Reporting a Food Advertisement

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is the advertising industry’s self-regulating body that has the objective of regulating the content of advertisements, so as to ensure the protection of consumers’ interests.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between FSSAI and ASCI in June 2016 to regulate misleading advertisements in the food and beverage (F&B) sector. As per ASCI data, the F&B sector is the third largest defaulter when it comes to misleading ads, after education and healthcare. As per the agreement, ASCI will monitor more than 800 newspapers and magazines in more than 14 languages in different editions. The self-regulatory body will also monitor more than 400 television channels for potentially misleading ads.

Consumers can file a complaint against a misleading advertisement on the ASCI website or by downloading a mobile application, ASCIonline, from Google Play store or any other application store. The website/mobile application allows the consumer to track the complaint that has been filed. If any food or beverage advertisement is found to be misleading, then the advertisement shall be called off from all media channels.

Here is the link to the ASCI website for filing a complaint: https://www.ascionline.org/index.php/lodge-ur-complaints.html

– Compiled by Richa Pande