Zomato gets notice from FSSAI, asked to get food safety licence

Dehradun: Online food delivery service Zomato was given a notice from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Wednesday, and asked to get a food safety licence for their operations. Officials from nagar nigam inspected the Zomato state head office situated at Cantt Road and issued a notice on behalf of FSSAI to the food delivery service for not having food licence/registration under section 31 of The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which stipulates that “no person shall commence or carry on any food business except under a licence.”

Sources said that although the Zomato authorities claimed that they do not prepare food themselves and are only engaged in supply, they were still issued a notice asking for procurement of food safety licence since “they are engaged in last-mile delivery and hence responsible for safety of food products.” 

Ramesh Singh, food safety officer of the nagar nigam, who headed the team, added that the online food delivery service was further asked to produce the lists of the food manufacturers with whom they are dealing with along with their FSSAI licences and registration numbers. “The FSSAI has also sought the medical certificates of all the employees who work with food outlets associated with Zomato who are directly involved in food preparation and packaging,” he said.

The Zomato authorities have been given seven days time to provide the details sought by FSSAI.

The action by the food safety authority comes after its chief executive had sometime back announced some new guidelines under which even food delivery chains need to procure relevant licences. He had termed these guidelines as aimed at building confidence in the e-commerce food business so that last-mile delivery is undertaken by trained personnel and that the safety of food products is not compromised at the time of delivery.

Authorities from Zomato couldn’t be contacted for their response even after repeated attempts.

Noodle-making unit without licence seized

Jaipur: A unit producing noodles at Kalwad Road was seized on Wednesday by health department’s food safety wing as it was functioning without a licence.

“Workers did not have any medical fitness certificate and they were producing noodles in unhygienic condition,” said Dr Sunil Singh, state nodal officer, food safety, health department. Dr Singh said they have also seized 50kg of raw material for producing noodles. Another team seized paneer from Hida Ki Mori. The officers said the paneer did not have required fat. They destroyed 250kg of paneer.

FDA shuts down four jaggery production units in Daund

Pune: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials on Tuesday shut down four jaggery production units in Daund in Pune district for using non-edible synthetic colour and violating food safety norms.

The officials also seized stock of adulterated jaggery worth over Rs3.72 lakh from the four units. 

“These are small production units. We have decided to intensify our surveillance in the area after the crackdown on Tuesday,” Suresh Deshmukh, joint commissioner (food), FDA, Pune, said.

Assistant commissioner Arjun Bhujbal, who spearheaded the raids, said, “Using synthetic non-edible colour is a grave violation under Food safety and Standards Act 2006. We have issued a stop-activity notice and asked them to shut down their premises for not adhering to food safety norms.” Daund taluka is a jaggery production belt in Pune district.