Karnataka suspends food licences of Instamart, BigBasket over toxic fruit sale

Karnataka's Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FDA) has ordered the suspension of food licences issued to Amazon, Swiggy Instamart and BigBasket until further orders over the online sale of poisonous Datura (Dhatura) fruits and seeds.The action follows a departmental probe that found Datura fruits and seeds being offered on the platforms for food and human consumption. Some of the packets were also found carrying FSSAI licence or registration numbers.Citing that Datura is poisonous, and its consumption can pose a serious risk to public health, the FDA has directed all the three e-commerce platforms to immediately remove all online listings and advertisements offering it for human consumption. They have also been ordered to stop the sale, distribution and display of the products as food.The department has additionally ordered the suspension of licences and registrations of vendors and establishments supplying Datura products to the online platforms. The e-commerce platforms and other concerned establishments have been asked to submit compliance reports immediately, following which a separate order regarding the lifting of the suspension will be issued after considering the matter.According to the state government order, on Monday, all the three e-commerce platforms appeared before a court for a hearing in the matter. While Amazon did not submit a response, Swiggy Instamart did not provide any documents regarding the action taken in the listing and sale of Datura and sought additional time for the same. BigBasket, meanwhile, informed the FDA that the sale of Datura fruits and seeds had been stopped and said that the method of sale would be rectified, with future listings carrying the label 'not for human consumption'. However, the FDA found the responses to be unsatisfactory.- EndsPublished On: Aug 25, 2026 07:46 IST