Three separate food-safety compliance notices from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India named AB Hotels Ltd — the company behind the Radisson Blu Hotel in New Delhi — alongside e-commerce operator Flipkart India Pvt Ltd and Innovative Retail Concepts Pvt Ltd, which runs the BigBasket platform, with each of the three entities facing documented violations of food-safety and regulatory standards.

Regulatory notices sent to the e-commerce platforms centre on health-related product claims for an edible oil that authorities describe as potentially misleading, while a separate enforcement action targeting the hotel addresses shortcomings in food handling and hygiene practices, as reported by a broadcast news outlet. A written notice from the food regulator requires the hotel operator to address identified shortcomings and provide a full account of the steps taken in response. Requests for explanations have also been directed at the businesses involved in marketing the edible oil, following assertions that their promotional activities may have breached applicable food advertising rules.

A food safety inspection of the Radisson Blu Hotel — operated by AB Hotels Ltd — identified a range of shortcomings in how the premises and food preparation areas were kept and cleaned, according to FSSAI. Inspectors found corroded equipment, leaking freezer units, and deficiencies spanning refrigeration systems, temperature controls, airflow, floor surfaces, and lighting — findings the regulator subsequently made public.

Inspectors further noted standing water, blocked drainage, a failure to handle food waste properly, and surfaces left uncleaned or unsanitised. Cockroach and fly activity were among the pest-related shortcomings that the inspection identified.

FSSAI inspectors also pointed to gaps in how incoming food supplies were being screened, noting that produce showing fungal growth or signs of deterioration had been accepted onto the premises. Paperwork covering approved supplier lists and the traceability of food products fell short of the required standard. Mandatory checks on cooking oil suitability had gone unperformed, the regulator's findings showed.

Testing at the hotel's NYC Kitchen identified cooking oils whose Total Polar Compound readings had reached 31 and 24.4, according to the findings. Among the breaches documented were failures to keep raw and cooked items apart, to store vegetarian and non-vegetarian products separately, and to isolate allergenic ingredients from those posing no allergy risk.

Inspectors noted that staff members on the food-handling floor lacked protective gear such as gloves and hairnets, and that some were observed wearing jewellery or had not kept their nails trimmed short. AB Hotels Ltd has been directed by FSSAI to put remedial steps in place and furnish a detailed report on actions taken, backed by relevant documents and photographs where available. Non-compliance with the notice leaves the hotel's FSSAI licence open to revocation, among other regulatory measures that authorities may pursue.

Notices targeting promotional claims attached to Freedom Cooking Rice Bran Oil were directed by FSSAI at three separate entities — Gemini Edibles & Fats India Ltd, Flipkart India Pvt Ltd, and Innovative Retail Concepts Pvt Ltd, the company behind BigBasket — as part of a distinct regulatory action. The regulator reported that online retailers and social media channels carried promotional material for the product, with marketing language asserting it could lower harmful cholesterol levels while sustaining or raising beneficial ones, alongside a claim of "10,000+ PPM Natural Oryzanol." Cholesterol management and heart health were among the areas addressed by the product's stated consumption claims.

The food safety authority determined that such labelling claims fell outside what the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018 — the rules covering edible vegetable oils — allow. Notices requiring the implicated firms to justify why enforcement proceedings should not be pursued over the purported breaches have been issued by the oversight body.

Inspection records from FSSAI indicate that Gemini Edibles & Fats India Ltd was listing products for sale through its own online retail platform without holding a Central Licence that covered e-commerce operations, details that surfaced through a broadcast news outlet.

Tightening oversight of food businesses, online marketplaces, and quick-commerce platforms — covering product claims, labelling standards, and broader safety compliance — forms the backdrop against which the latest notices have been issued. Regulatory action targeting Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, and Zepto was set in motion by FSSAI that September, with the food authority citing concerns over deceptive product claims and the presence or listing of food items whose sale is not permitted. Labelling concerns over product details and claims tied to a range of packaged foods and dairy lines were among the issues the regulator put on record.

Two areas sit at the centre of the regulator's enforcement attention — cleanliness conditions within food-serving premises and the accuracy of health-related claims appearing in online product marketing.