The online food delivery Farm Zomato will not be able to operate in India without a valid food safety licence for their operations. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a notice to Zomato asking it to get a food safety license on priority for their operations. Citing section 31 of The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, FSSAI said no person or firm can carry out any food business without license. The autonomous body further said even though the firm does not make food it’s accountable for the safety of food products. Officials from Nagar Nigam inspected the Zomato state head office situated at Cantt Road and issued a notice on behalf of FSSAI.
The Zomato authorities have been given seven days time to provide the details sought by FSSAI.
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 license 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.
A decade-old venture is a full-stack food platform that lets users discover restaurants, make a table reservation and facilitate on-demand delivery. For restaurants, it helps in sourcing grocery, fruits & vegetables, logistics, and driving footfalls (via subscription such as Zomato Gold).
Earlier, FSSAI CEO had announced some new guidelines under which even food delivery chains need to procure relevant licences, according to a report.
This is to ensure that last-mile delivery is undertaken safely by trained personnel and the safety of food products is not compromised at the time of delivery.
It’s worth noting that in December last year a delivery executive of Zomato found consuming food out of the boxed orders in Madurai. The incident triggered concerns over the lack of safety measures factored as far as food supplied to end consumers by the aggregator is concerned.
Zomato in a response to queries on a report said that it has already applied for a licence for its operations in Dehradun as well as other cities. The company will ensure that it is fully compliant with the directives set by FSSAI.
It further said that the company is fully committed to provide food quality, restaurant hygiene and our overall services every single day. At present, it claims to have the Food Hygiene Ratings of over 10,000 restaurants, which translate to over 80 per cent of the volume for its online ordering business, live on the platform.
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