Number of complaints against online food ordering and delivery services have almost doubled in FY2020 compared to FY2019, figures disclosed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in Rajya Sabha revealed. Between April 2018 and March 2019, 1,053 complaints were registered with the National Consumer Helpline while 1,955 complaints have already been registered between April 2019 and January 2020. The Minister of State Danve Raosaheb Dadarao did not reveal which services were most complained against.
Courtesy: Rajya Sabha
Dadarao also said that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had noted instances of “sale of sub-standard food being delivered through online food delivery service platforms”. He told the Upper House that FSSAI takes up such matters with the Commissioner of Food Safety of the respective states/UTs as according to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the Act’s implementation and enforcement primarily rests with the state/UT governments.
Dadarao revealed these details in response to a question by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut. Dadarao did not clarify if the government was considering any other steps “to regulate the online food ordering and services companies”, nor did he reveal which services were most complained against.
Amazon, Flipkart, telcos most complained against
In December 2019, Dadarao had told the Rajya Sabha that the National Consumer Helpline received most complaints against Flipkart, Amazon, Jio, Airtel and Vodafone between April and September 2019. In six months, the five companies collectively received 34,991 complaints, of which 34,342 (about 98%) complaints had been resolved.
Courtesy: Rajya Sabha
