On December 3, 2024, FSSAI issued an advisory for e-commerce to adhere to regulatory requirements.

i) Prioritise the training of the last-mile delivery personnel. It is essential to ensure that delivery staff are well trained in food safety and hygiene practices. This training should cover safe handling and transportation of food to prevent contamination, as well as personal hygiene and proper sanitization procedures. Additionally, FBOs must ensure that food and nonfood items are delivered separately to avoid the risk of cross-contamination, thus safeguarding consumer health.

ii) Any product claims made on e-commerce platforms must be fully aligned with the information provided on the proper physical label. No claims that are not sustained on the product packaging should appear online. This measure is crucial to prevent the dissemination of misleading or unsupported claims, which could result in regulatory action and loss of consumer trust. E-commerce FBOs shall have mechanisms in place to ensure that products listed on their platforms are in compliance with FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.

iii) To maintain consumer confidence, it is also necessary to ensure that food products being delivered have sufficient remaining shelf life. Fssai mandates that products must have a minimum shelf life of 30% or at least 45 days before expiry at the time of delivery.

iv) E-commerce platforms are encouraged to prominently display the FSSAI license/registration number of the sellers and hygiene rating obtained by food business operators. This practice will enhance consumer trust and allow them to make more informed purchasing decisions.

v) No E-commerce FBO shall list any food business operator (seller) on its platform without displaying their FSSAI valid license or registration.

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