Indian foodtech giant Zomato has announced the de-listing of hundreds of restaurants from its food ordering platform, for not complying with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
However, the startup said, that these restaurants will be re-listed on its platform, once they produce their FSSAI license.
Some restaurants who were not able to furnish their FSSAI licenses and have high Zomato ratings and/or high repeat order volumes on Zomato have been given until the end of September to furnish their licenses.
Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO, Zomato, said in a blog post, The de-listing of restaurants happened thanks to our collaborative effort with FSSAI. Along with FSSAI, Zomato is a guardian of users and the restaurant industry. As a result, FSSAI and Zomato have worked together to take strict actions in the interest of public health.”
Taking into account the health and hygiene in the restaurant industry, last year, Zomato had introduced Food Hygiene Ratings.
Zomato will also be introducing hygiene checks for the restaurants listed on its platform, in order to make sure no cloud kitchens are listed. These hygiene checks are expected to be conducted by third-party industry experts.
Along with other Zomato, other food delivery startups like Swiggy, UberEats, and Foodpanda has also started to ensure that all the restaurants on their platform are FSSAI compliant.
The recent move by the food delivery startups will help strengthen the ecosystem by ensuring hygiene standards and improving the quality of Indian restaurants overall.
Zomato has onboarded new restaurants and has over 50,000 restaurant partners on its platform, without divulging any details, the startup claimed that the move will not hamper its order volumes as most of its food partners have applied for their FSSAI licenses.
Indian foodtech industry is on a growth trajectory as the two leading food delivery startup Zomato and Swiggy compete for greater market share.
Recently, Zomato acquired corporate catering startup Tonguestun for ₹129 crores, after having launched its food delivery service in seven tier 2 cities, last month.
Also last month, Swiggy acquired on-demand delivery startup Scootsy and partnered with food startup Yumlane.