Notices to food brands over consumer complaints

THe solid solid food refuge standards authorisation of republic of india (FSSAI) has issued notices to several food business operators, including Nestlé India, KFC and Flipkart, over allegations of selling contaminated product and operating in unhygienic conditions after taking cognisance of social media complaints, according to people familiar with the matter.“It is true that notices have gone to several food businesses. The notices have been issued based on social media complaints raised by consumers on compliance issues by certain food businesses and brands that recently went viral on social media,” said a senior official in the food safety and standards authority of India, requesting anonymity.According to reports, the notices have been issued to Nestlé India for Maggi, KFC, Flipkart and food brand Open Secret for alleged lapses. The apex food regulator acted suo motto after at least three separate complaints were made that were widely circulated online.The notice to Nestlé has been reportedly on allegations that insects were found inside a packet of Maggi noodles, for which FSSAI has sought Action Taken Report that includes details of the vendor, internal quality-check logs for the said batch, corrective measures taken to remove affected product from the supply chain and steps being implemented to prevent a recurrence of the issue.Nestle refuted these claims, saying, “We categorically reject the allegations circulating on media basis an unverified account regarding the presence of infestation, allegedly on MAGGI noodles. We are yet to receive the complaint sample from the complainant as the account is unreachable. A detailed representation, supported by all relevant facts, quality records from batch and market samples, test reports, has already been submitted to the competent authorities.The notice to KFC was issued to one of its outlets in MVR Mall in Andhra Pradesh’s Eluru, after there were allegations made that the outlet was operating in unhygienic conditions. The regulator has sought details of deficiencies related to hygiene, sanitation, food handling, storage, waste management, pest control and employee hygiene, along with documentary evidence of corrective and preventive measures in this regard.The third notice has been served to Open Secret’s product—“Unjunked Dates”— over allegations that the product that was delivered through Flipkart Minutes, contained insects.FSSAI has sought internal quality-control records, details of corrective actions taken to remove the product from the supply chain and measures aimed at preventing similar incidents from both concerned parties, according to people familiar with the matter.