 "Foodpanda, Zomato, Swiggy, 7 others delist over 5,000 unsafe food joints")
As many as 10 online food ordering platforms including Swiggy, Zomato and Foodpanda have delisted over 5,000 restaurants for not having approval from food safety regulator FSSAI, a top official said Wednesday.
The platforms include Swiggy, Zomato, Foodpanda, Box8, Faasos, FoodCloud, Foodmingo, JusFood, LimeTray and UberEats.
The move by the companies comes after FSSAI asked them in July to stop using edibles supplied by non-licensed operators after it received consumer complaints of sub-standard food being served through these platforms.
"Over 5,000 restaurants have been delisted by the e-commerce food service platforms," Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal said.
On July 20, FSSAI directed the 10 food aggregators to debar the non-FSSAI licensed/registered food operators and ensure compliance of food safety rules and regulations.
FSSAI asked them to give state-wise list so that enforcement agencies could take further action, sources in the know said.
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"We have delisted hundreds of restaurants across the 41 cities in India where we offer our online ordering and food delivery services. We would be happy to relist them alongside any of the other partners as and when they furnish their licences," Zomato Food Delivery CEO Mohit Gupta said.
FSSAI had earlier directed food ordering platforms to furnish their FSSAI licence, agreement signed with Food Business Operators (FBOs) and their internal checks to ensure that their FBOs hold valid FSSAI licences.
The food regulator in February this year operationalised guidelines for e-commerce FBOs.