Facing criticism over the presence of suspicious ‘one-dish’ restaurants on its platform, India’s food delivery giant, Zomato, has issued a response. The company said it had ‘delisted’ some of the fraudulent restaurants on its app that may have gamed the system to push ‘prohibited items’. The emergence of shady listings on Zomato had led to social media users floating several conspiracy theories, with some believing that the restaurants were a front for drug trade while others claimed that Zomato was facilitating ‘money laundering’ business.

“We have identified all such restaurants that were potentially fraudulent and have delisted them from our platform. To solve this more comprehensively, we have also investigated all other restaurants which have a very limited menu on Zomato and might have listed prohibited items or worked around a way to list prohibited items,” a Zomato spokesperson said.

“As per our policy, all restaurants listed on Zomato need to have a FSSAI license and we also actively block items such as alcohol, cigarettes/cigars/vapes from being listed on our platform,” they added.

The restaurant aggregator admitted that the said restaurants were able to game Zomato’s “checks by using generic food names such as, ‘Naughty strawberry’ and ‘Merry Berry'”.

“We have further strengthened our fraud checks to proactively identify such cases to avoid similar incidents in the future,” the company said.

What was the controversy?

Last week, social media users pointed out that such shady restaurants had come up in the northern Indian union territory of Chandigarh — offering a single dish at ‘absurdly high prices’. Some of the suspicious restaurants had no reviews while others had been bombarded with negative reviews — possibly to shield the operation from customers simply looking to order food.

“Came across some odd listings on Zomato in Chandigarh – so-called ‘restaurants’ that only offer a single dish, priced absurdly high. It’s got me wondering: could these be fronts for money laundering or some other shady business?” read the post by a Redditor.

Also Read | Bizarre “One-Dish” Restaurants Appear On Zomato, Netizens Float Conspiracy Theories

As the post went viral, the users came up with their theories about what could have led to the emergence of such facilities.

“Those look like flavours of juice that you put into your vapes. Pricing also looks consistent,” said one user, while another added: “True. I know of an exact such operation in another city, that essentially sells vape pens/cartridges. The price is almost the same, Rs 1000- Rs 1200 per item.”

One user pointed out that all the restaurants were in the same location ‘Nayagaon’, adding to the mystery.

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Amid rising consumer complaints, food regulator FSSAI on Tuesday (November 12, 2024) directed e-commerce players selling food items on their platforms to ensure a minimum shelf life of 30% or 45 days before expiry, at the time of delivery to customers.

According to an official statement, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) convened a meeting with e-commerce Food Business operators (FBOs) to reinforce compliance requirements for e-commerce FBOs.

ALSO READ: FSSAI asks States to issue SoPs for delivery personnel to ensure safe food to consumers

“The (FSSAI) CEO asked the e-commerce FBOs to adopt practices to ensure minimum shelf life of 30% or 45 days before expiry at the time of delivery to the consumer,” the statement said.

Mr. Rao, who chaired the meeting, clarified that any product claims made on e-commerce platforms must align with the information provided on the product labels and in adherence to FSSAI’s Labelling and Display Regulations.

He also cautioned the FBOs against making unsupported claims online.

“This would prevent misleading information and protect consumers’ right to accurate product details,” the regulator said.

Mr. Rao highlighted the pivotal role of online platforms in protecting consumer health and promoting transparency. He reiterated the mandate that no FBO can operate on any e-commerce platform without a valid FSSAI license or registration, emphasising the critical need for regulatory compliance.

In a move to ensure safe food handling at every level, he instructed FBOs to implement proper training programs for delivery personnel, empowering them with essential food safety and hygiene protocols.

Additionally, Mr. Rao emphasised the importance of delivering food and non-food items separately to consumers to avoid potential contamination.

In his concluding remarks, the CEO, FSSAI underscored the need for all e-commerce FBOs to adhere to food safety standards diligently.

He added that a transparent, compliant and accountable e-commerce food sector is vital for protecting consumer health and fostering confidence in digital food marketplaces.

The session was attended by over 200 participants joined both physically and virtually from across the country, underscoring the significant commitment to strengthening food safety standards within the e-commerce sector.

Earlier this month, the FSSAI asked state authorities to increase surveillance in warehouses of e-commerce operators and issue standard operating procedures (SoPs) for delivery personnel to ensure safe food to consumers.

In its 45th Central Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting on November 7, States and Union Territories were urged to ramp up surveillance at popular tourist destinations to ensure heightened safety standards in preparation for the peak tourist season from November through March.

Mr. Rao had asked “Food Commissioners of various states to step up surveillance on warehouses and other facilities utilised by e-commerce platforms.”

He also asked for SOPs to be issued for such warehouses, as well as delivery personnel of these platforms.

“States/UTs were asked to increase surveillance samples and were also asked to deploy Food Safety on Wheels mobile vans for this purpose,” the regulator said.