FSSAI show-cause notices: what Zepto must do
FSSAI show-cause notices have been issued to Zepto and several food and nutraceutical brands over alleged food-safety, labelling and advertising violations.
What changed
The notice against Zepto followed a consumer complaint on social media alleging delivery of expired packets of besan, or gram flour. FSSAI directed the platform to submit order logs, seller details, warehouse tracking, root-cause analysis, and proof of stock withdrawal and customer refunds.
BMS Lifescience, HealthyHey Foods and Bakelite Food Processing also received notices over misleading labelling and advertising. FSSAI directed the companies to submit comprehensive written explanations and corrective action reports within stipulated deadlines, or face licence suspensions and statutory penalties.
Who it affects
Bakelite Food Processing, the parent company behind Pune-based Malpani Foods, was targeted over describing its product, “Malpani’s Bakelite Puneri Cream Roll”, as “creamy”. The product includes no cream or other dairy-based ingredients, but hydrogenated vegetable fat, margarine and sugar.
BMS Lifescience was marketing “HAOG’s Cranberry Urinary Tract Health Capsules” under an expired FSSAI registration certificate. The brand also made health-related claims around disease risk reduction pertaining to the kidney and urinary tract without approval from the regulator, used the official FSSAI logo misleadingly, used the claim “as directed by healthcare practitioner” in a non-compliant manner, and made potentially misleading claims online.
HealthyHey Foods faced action over discrepancies in labelled ingredients across its website and Flipkart for “HealthyHey Nutrition Natural Cranberry Extract 25% Capsules”. The regulator also alleged that the brand made unapproved claims such as “100% Natural” and marketed the product with the FSSAI logo and “FSSAI certified” in a misleading way.
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The source also says FSSAI has penalised Amazon, Bigbasket, Flipkart, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto over alleged misbranding, misleading claims, and the sale and display of prohibited or poisonous food articles.
FSSAI has also sanctioned adjudication proceedings against beverage brand Storia. It had earlier flagged the brand’s pomegranate juice for containing 4% pomegranate juice concentrate and 12% apple juice concentrate, despite misleading front-of-pack branding and visual imagery.
The authority also cited non-compliant declarations, including prominent “No Added Sugar” claims alongside obscured disclosures, and the unapproved claim “Equivalent to 100% Fruit Juice (Reconstituted)”. The Central Consumer Protection Authority had fined Storia ₹1 Lakh for misleading consumers over its use of “100%” in product labelling.
What to do now
For Zepto, FSSAI requested order logs, seller details, warehouse tracking, root-cause analysis, and proof of stock withdrawal and customer refunds.
Zepto’s updated DRHP disclosed ongoing regulatory and labour-related proceedings, including consumer protection cases, food-safety violations and an Enforcement Directorate inquiry into its ownership structure under FEMA. Its subsidiary has also faced allegations of overcharging beyond MRP and misleading advertisements. Other pending matters involve alleged wage underpayment, trade licence violations and food safety issues across several states.
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