Enforcement proceedings were launched by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) against six entities — among them a hotel, three food businesses, and two e-commerce platforms — over violations spanning food safety standards and misleading product claims, according to posts the regulator published on social media on Friday.
Among the named respondents are AB Hotels Limited, which operates the Radisson Blu Hotel, along with DNV Food Products Limited, Jhanvitanni, and Gemini Edibles and Fats India Limited, while the digital retail platforms BigBasket and Flipkart India are also drawn into the proceedings.
An improvement notice was served on Radisson Blu Hotel by the regulator, citing neglected upkeep of facilities and equipment — among them corroded machinery, leaking freezer units, and shortfalls in refrigeration systems, temperature monitoring, ventilation, floor surfaces, and lighting. The notice further documented inadequate sanitation practices, pools of stagnant water, unresolved drainage and food-waste problems, and gaps in pest management, with both cockroach and fly activity recorded on the premises. Inspectors also found insufficient checks on incoming food supplies, including the acceptance of fungal-affected and deteriorated produce alongside incomplete approved-vendor records and traceability documentation, and a failure to conduct required suitability assessments on cooking oils, with two samples retrieved from the NYC Kitchen returning total polar compound readings of 31 and 24.4 respectively.
Across four distinct pairing categories — raw versus cooked, vegetarian versus non-vegetarian, allergenic versus non-allergenic, and food versus non-food — storage and handling practices fell short of required separation standards. Inspectors observed staff members handling food without protective gloves or hairnets, and noted the presence of jewellery and untrimmed nails among those on duty. No visible placement of the FSSAI licence was observed at the premises.
The regulator ordered the food business operator to put corrective measures in place without delay and furnish a full action taken report, backed by documentary records and photographic evidence. The regulatory body noted that non-compliance with the rules puts a business at risk of losing its FSSAI licence.
Notices from the food safety regulator extended to Gemini Edibles and Fats India Limited, Innovative Retail Concepts Private Limited (BigBasket), and Flipkart India, all three having carried the "Freedom Cooking Rice Bran Oil" product on their platforms alongside social media content asserting that the oil reduces low-density lipoprotein levels while sustaining or raising high-density lipoprotein levels, and that it contains natural oryzanol at a concentration exceeding 10,000 parts per million — representations the regulator found to position the product as a tool for cholesterol regulation and cardiovascular health.
Under the Advertising and Claims Regulations, 2018, the labelling assertions attached to rice bran oil as an edible vegetable oil product fall outside the scope of what FSSAI authorises or recognises as permissible. The report further flagged that Gemini Edibles and Fats India Limited appeared to be selling food products through its own e-commerce platform without holding a central licence that covered such online trading activity. Notices requiring those operators to explain why proceedings under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 — along with its associated rules and regulations — ought not to be brought against them have been formally issued.
Inspectors from FSSAI visiting the DNV Food Products Limited facility documented standing water, cobwebs, and fly activity across both production and storage areas — one fly was observed in direct contact with papad — alongside inadequate cleaning practices, findings that led the regulator to suspend the company's operating licence. Protective gear — gloves and masks alike — was absent among the food handlers observed during the inspection.
Corroded machinery sat alongside cracked floors, moisture-laden walls, peeling paintwork, and ventilation and lighting that fell short of adequate standards. Inspectors found that goods had been handled and repackaged at the facility without the endorsement required on the operating licence, while documentation covering food-grade packaging certification, migration testing, and mock recall procedures was not present at the facility, the regulator stated.
The food safety regulator revoked Jhanvitanni's operating licence after the business continued operating despite an earlier suspension and repeatedly fell short of food safety standards. Inspectors found that the location fell below accepted standards for cleanliness and waste management. The remediation plan put forward by the food business operator did not meet the required standard, leaving a number of the violations flagged in earlier inspections still in place. Hygiene standards, sanitation protocols, and Food Safety Management System obligations — among them the requirement for a third-party audit — went unmet by the operator across multiple rounds of regulatory direction and enforcement action.
