The Karnataka government has suspended the food licenses of online grocery delivery platforms Swiggy Instamart, Amazon, and BigBasket following the discovery of poisonous datura fruits and seeds being offered as food items. The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration Department has mandated the immediate removal of all datura listings and has prohibited their sale and distribution as food products. Companies are required to submit compliance reports, and the suspension will be lifted upon review. This action is part of a broader effort to enhance food safety, coming shortly after similar crackdowns in Maharashtra on quick-commerce operations for unhygienic conditions.

The Karnataka government has suspended the food licenses of online grocery delivery platforms Swiggy Instamart, Amazon, and BigBasket following the discovery of poisonous datura fruits and seeds being offered as food items. The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration Department has mandated the immediate removal of all datura listings and has prohibited their sale and distribution as food products. Companies are required to submit compliance reports, and the suspension will be lifted upon review. This action is part of a broader effort to enhance food safety, coming shortly after similar crackdowns in Maharashtra on quick-commerce operations for unhygienic conditions.

The Karnataka government has suspended the food licenses of online grocery delivery platforms Swiggy Instamart, Amazon, and BigBasket following the discovery of poisonous datura fruits and seeds being offered as food items. The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration Department has mandated the immediate removal of all datura listings and has prohibited their sale and distribution as food products. Companies are required to submit compliance reports, and the suspension will be lifted upon review. This action is part of a broader effort to enhance food safety, coming shortly after similar crackdowns in Maharashtra on quick-commerce operations for unhygienic conditions.

In a major move, the Karnataka Government has suspended the food licences of online grocery delivery platforms, Swiggy Instamart, Amazon and BigBasket, until further orders after datura fruits and seeds were found listed on the platforms as food products.

Datura is a group of nine wild, highly poisonous plant species in the nightshade family. It is historically and pharmacologically considered a narcotic and a potent deliriant, though it is very different from opioids. It is classified as a deliriant and a poison due to the extreme danger of its psychoactive compounds.

According to reports, the Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration Department has directed the platforms to immediately remove all listings and advertisements offering datura, also known as dhatura, for human consumption. They have also been ordered to stop selling and distributing datura as a food product.

The department also asked these companies and organisations concerned to immediately submit a Compliance Report on the actions taken. After reviewing the reports, a separate order will be issued to lift the suspension, the department said.

While Amazon did not submit a response, Swiggy Instamart sought time to provide details. BigBasket said it had stopped the sale and would revise the labelling. It added that any such products that are listed will be clearly labeled as ‘Not for Human Consumption’.

This comes just days after Maharashtra cracked down on 12 quick-commerce warehouses operated by Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart after inspections found cockroach infestations, rotten vegetables and other unhygienic conditions.

As part of the wider food-safety drive led by Maharashtra’s food safety chief Tukaram Mundhe, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected 86 establishments and issued 60 improvement notices. It suspended the permits of five Blinkit warehouses, five Zepto warehouses and two Swiggy Instamart facilities.

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