Swiggy Shares Slip Over 1% After FSSAI Flags Rotten Food Complaints Against Instamart

Swiggy shares fell over 1% on July 13 after the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said it has issued nine notices to quick-commerce platform Swiggy Instamart following multiple consumer complaints.

In a post on X, FSSAI said the notices were issued "following multiple consumer complaints alleging violations under the FSS Act 2006." The regulator said the complaints alleged supply of "expired, spoiled, rotten, contaminated and otherwise unsafe food products" through the platform. FSSAI has directed Swiggy Instamart to submit a detailed explanation and compliance report, failing which it will initiate legal action.

At 11:19 am, Swiggy shares were down 1.32% at ₹269.50. An Instamart spokesperson said the company is reviewing the concerns flagged by the regulator. "We are reviewing the flagged listings by FSSAI and are in touch with the authorities to resolve the same," the spokesperson said, as quoted by PTI.

Details Of The Complaints

FSSAI said 'Healthify 100% Whey Protein 1 kg' and 'Noice Homestyle Madras Mixture with Peanuts' were allegedly supplied after their expiry dates. 'Akshayakalpa Organic Egg' was reportedly found expired and rotten, with a foul odour and signs of contamination. 'Kakke da Paratha' was also reportedly found spoiled and emitting a foul odour.

The regulator said some complaints alleged delivery of contaminated eggs and milk, along with damaged packaged food items. It added that an infant food formulation was reportedly found "in a highly deteriorated and unsafe condition, showing signs of contamination and improper storage and handling." According to FSSAI, this product was allegedly re-supplied even after it had been returned once.

FSSAI also found cases of incorrect, invalid or non-existent FSSAI licence numbers. It said some food business entities were listed under names different from those registered with FSSAI. The regulator further said some complaints alleged no satisfactory response or corrective action despite being escalated, while one complaint stated that only a refund was offered without addressing the food safety concern raised.

FSSAI said the notices raised concerns about seller onboarding, compliance verification, traceability, food quality monitoring, consumer grievance redressal and supervision of food business activities. The notices were issued based on both suo moto cognisance and consumer complaints.

Other Recent Actions By FSSAI

FSSAI has issued similar notices to several food and beverage companies in recent months. It sent notices to Lotte India, Ferns N Petals and Kubera Foods over misleading claims and labelling violations.

The regulator also issued notices to six beverage brands marketed as energy drinks for misbranding and misleading claims. These are Red Bull Energy Drink, PepsiCo's Adrenaline Rush Energy Drink, Reliance Consumer Products' Campa Energy Drink- Gold Boost, Sting Energy Drink, Hell Energy and Coca-Cola-backed Monster Energy.

FSSAI had earlier sent a notice to quick-commerce platform Blinkit over consumer complaints about poor-quality eggs sold on its platform. In a separate case, it sought an explanation from Blinkit after a consumer complained of falling sick after consuming curd ordered through the platform.

Earlier this month, FSSAI issued a notice to Heritage Foods Ltd over misleading claims related to its "Fresh Paneer" product.