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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNew Delhi: Having secured nearly 2,000 convictions in food safety cases across the country, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is now stepping up enforcement, including holding e-commerce platforms responsible for products sold through them and proposing stricter action against high-fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) foods near schools, its CEO Rajit Punhani said Thursday.FSSAI will begin checks on e-commerce platforms from next month. Platforms will have to carry out due diligence and ensure that products listed on them comply with food safety regulations.“We are holding e-commerce platforms responsible. They cannot take this plea that they are just aggregators, they are just platforms. It is your responsibility, your due diligence,” Punhani said.FSSAI has already held consultations with e-commerce companies. Punhani identified e-commerce and labelling as two major consumer-focused reforms expected over the next year.The regulator has also proposed restricting the sale of HFSS food within 50 metres of schools to protect children from unhealthy food. Punhani said the earlier challenge was the absence of a clear definition of HFSS food. The Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition, a govt nutrition research institute, has now provided criteria that FSSAI plans to use.On enforcement, Punhani said FSSAI had suspended licences, closed establishments and launched prosecutions. Around 600 people had been arrested in criminal cases involving unsafe food in the previous six months, he said. He cited around 1,900 convictions and 33,000 notices issued across India for food safety violations, including adulteration, mislabelling and substandard food.<\/p>\n Share your thoughts in the comments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n