A Swift Regulatory Crackdown
The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration Department has suspended the food licenses of Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, and BigBasket until further notice. The action was taken after officials discovered that Datura fruits and seeds, which are poisonous,
were being sold on these platforms as food products. According to an order from Food Safety Commissioner K. Srinivas, the platforms were directed to immediately remove all listings and advertisements for Datura intended for human consumption. The department's investigation revealed that packets of the toxic plant were being stored in warehouses and sold with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) registration numbers, creating a serious public health risk.
What Is Datura and Why Is It Dangerous?
Datura, known by common names like 'Dhatura', 'Thorn Apple', and 'Devil's Trumpet', is a genus of plants belonging to the nightshade family. All parts of the plant, especially its seeds and flowers, are extremely poisonous. They contain potent tropane alkaloids, including atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine. Ingestion can lead to a severe condition known as anticholinergic toxidrome, with symptoms appearing within 30 to 60 minutes. These symptoms include high fever, rapid heartbeat, dry mouth, dilated pupils, and severe hallucinations. In serious cases, Datura poisoning can cause delirium, psychosis, convulsions, coma, and even death from respiratory depression or cardiac arrest.
From Ritual Use to Risky Commodity
Despite its toxicity, Datura has a long history of use in traditional practices, including Ayurveda, and holds ritual significance, particularly in the worship of Shiva. However, experts are clear that it should be handled with extreme care by professionals and is never sold or consumed as a fruit. The plant's availability on mainstream e-commerce and quick-commerce apps, sometimes even offered as a freebie, raised alarms. The concern was that unsuspecting consumers might mistake the spiny fruit for an edible item, leading to accidental poisoning. The sale of such a plant without stringent controls and clear warnings about its toxicity is illegal under India's Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940.
The E-Commerce Response
When summoned by the regulatory authority, the responses from the three companies varied. According to reports, Amazon did not initially submit a formal response to the notice. Swiggy Instamart requested more time to provide documents detailing its actions. BigBasket informed the authorities that it had already stopped selling Datura and would change its labeling to clearly state the product is “not for human consumption.” However, the Food Safety Department found these responses unsatisfactory given the gravity of the public health risk, leading to the suspension of their food licences.
A Broader Challenge for Online Marketplaces
This incident underscores a significant challenge in the rapidly expanding world of e-commerce: how to effectively monitor and regulate the vast number of products sold by third-party vendors. The action in Karnataka was not limited to the platforms alone; the government also ordered the suspension of licenses for the sellers and establishments that were supplying Datura to them. This case serves as a crucial reminder of the shared responsibility of platforms, sellers, and regulators to ensure consumer safety. It highlights a critical grey area where products with legitimate, albeit niche, uses can be easily misrepresented or sold without adequate safeguards, posing a direct threat to public health.
