Industry has to follow the consumer, says FSSAI chief on food-safety push
New Delhi, Sept. 20 -- India's food-safety regulator is preparing to widen its net beyond traditional food businesses to e-commerce platforms, quick-commerce dark stores, and areas in and around schools.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is looking at tighter scrutiny of online food businesses, clearer information for consumers, warning symbols on packaged foods, tighter controls on claims made by companies and stronger enforcement by state food-safety authorities, its chief executive officer Rajit Punhani said in an exclusive interview with Mint.
The regulator also aims to empower consumers as more food purchases move online and complaints rise. It now receives 5,000-6,000 consumer complaints a month, up from about 1,000-1,500 earlier.
The rapid expansion of online food commerce has created a new enforcement challenge, Punhani said. "A consumer buying from a dark store or cloud kitchen cannot physically inspect the premises or pick up a packet to read its label. Dark stores and cloud kitchens will be routinely inspected to ensure they follow all hygiene and sanitation guidelines," he said.
"The same principle will apply to information available online on food items. If a buyer goes to a shop, they can see the front and back of a label. That information needs to be available online, like its manufacturing date, expiry date, batch number, etc.," he added.
The FSSAI's labelling rules already require food businesses selling through e-commerce to provide prescribed information to consumers, wherever applicable. Its focus is now also on how effectively that information is presented in the digital buying environment.
The body's goal is also to have a consumer interface with QR codes and technology playing a bigger role. "Consumer awareness is growing. There will be more digital tools like QR codes that will come in for consumers to know what exactly is inside what they are consuming," Punhani said.
"We have urged brands to put QR codes on their products. Eventually, there will be apps where consumers scan the QR code, and artificial intelligence can tell them, according to their requirements, whether they should have that product or not."
"Industry has to follow the consumer; they don't have a choice," he said.
Another major change is expected on the front-of-the-pack labels, where the FSSAI is working towards warning symbols linked to levels of sugar, salt, and added fat. "When a product carries a warning symbol, the consumer knows it is not healthy," Punhani said.
The regulator's broader position is that food companies must clearly tell consumers what they are buying, without potentially misleading claims such as "healthy", "100%" or "energy drink".
The regulator has also written to the trademark controller seeking to prevent the use of "healthy" in food-related trademarks, as the term has no regulatory definition.
The regulator's wider enforcement push has covered packaged foods, beverages and food-service businesses, with about 150 notices issued to major fast-moving consumer goods companies, alcohol companies over labelling and claims, including terms such as "100% natural", "fresh" and "energy drink", flavoured spirits and so on.
Punhani said 90% of companies that received notices over misleading claims have either changed their labels or are in the process of doing so. Some have challenged the FSSAI's position in court, while others have sought time to make the changes.
Nestle India is among the latest companies to face action from the FSSAI over product labelling.
Enforcement has also moved beyond the pack, with the regulator suspending licences of food outlets and issuing notices to major quick-service restaurant chains over food-safety and hygiene issues.
The regulator is tightening its framework for food sold and promoted in and around schools.
It has already proposed the Draft Food Safety and Standards (Safe Food and Balanced Diets for Children in School) Amendment Regulations, 2026, covering foods high in added fat, added sugar or sodium on school premises, including restrictions on their sale and promotion. Issued in August, the draft is based on the Indian Council of Medical Research's Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024.
The move will mean schools will be placed alongside e-commerce as an increasingly important consumer-facing area for food-safety regulation, particularly because the products consumed there involve children.
While the FSSAI sets national food-safety standards and regulations, much of the ground-level enforcement is carried out by state food-safety authorities under the Food Safety and Standards Act. "Most of the inspections you see are done by the state government," Punhani said.
The visibility of those state enforcement agencies is also changing, he said. "Food-safety departments in the states are relatively unknown. Everyone knows other departments, but not necessarily the food-safety department. Now, at least, people know there is a food-safety commissioner."
Around 700 food-safety personnel have also been recruited by states over the past year, with another 1,000 in the pipeline to strengthen on-the-ground enforcement, Punhani said. Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MINT. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at contentservices@htdigital.in