Karnataka suspends food licences of Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket over Datura sale
The Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration has suspended the food licences of Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, and BigBasket for selling poisonous Datura seeds as food products. The department deemed the companies' responses unsatisfactory after finding the toxic items listed with FSSAI registration numbers.
Why it matters
This highlights significant regulatory gaps in e-commerce food safety and the risks associated with automated vendor listing processes on major delivery platforms.
The Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has suspended the food licences of Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, and BigBasket until further orders after toxic Datura fruits and seeds were found being sold online as food products.
According to an order issued by Food Safety Commissioner K. Srinivas, the department has also directed the three platforms to immediately remove listings and advertisements for Datura, also known as Dhatura, and stop selling or distributing the products for human consumption.
The action followed inspections by food safety officials, who found Datura fruits and seeds being stored and offered for sale through e-commerce platforms using Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) registration or licence numbers.
Officials said Datura is poisonous and that its sale or distribution as a food product poses a serious public health risk.
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