As per media reports, the government has taken notice of the recent food safety complaints, involving poor sanitary conditions at dark stores run by these players
Following a series of complaints about food safety violations at various facilities operated by the major players in the quick commerce ecosystem, the Centre is likely to call for increased surveillance on rapid delivery firms, as per the reports.
The reports noted that the government has taken notice of the recent food safety complaints, involving poor sanitary conditions at dark stores run by these players. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is likely to take command, and the agency is looking to conduct unscheduled inspections at the dark stores and warehouses across the nation, the reports added.
This development follows the recent action on the dark stores in Pune and Mumbai by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration. The FDA conducted inspections at the dark stores at the stated locations and reported multiple hygiene issues and food safety norm violations, leading to the suspension of licenses.
The reports noted that various packaged food companies have also raised concerns over the issues and have written to quick commerce platforms in the last few months. In addition to the crackdown on the unsafe operating practices, the Centre is also taking an active approach to counter the dark patterns employed by the ecommerce platforms to deceive consumers.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued an advisory to all ecommerce platforms to take necessary steps to ensure that their platforms do not engage in deceptive and unfair trade practices, which are in the nature of dark patterns
