FSSAI Compliance Checklist for Quick Commerce Brands

Before a food brand lists on a quick-commerce platform, have four things ready: your FSSAI licence or registration number, label details that match your listing word for word, a shelf-life plan, and batch records. FSSAI's advisory, reported on 4 December 2024, says platforms must not list any seller without displaying its FSSAI licence or registration number, claims must fully align with the physical label, and products need at least 30% of shelf life or at least 45 days remaining at delivery. This checklist turns that into tasks. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm with a food-law adviser.

What did FSSAI actually ask for?

Inc42 reported an FSSAI advisory issued on Tuesday, 3 December 2024, for food delivery and quick-commerce platforms. The measures it listed:

Train last-mile delivery staff on food safety and hygiene.
Deliver food and non-food items separately to prevent cross-contamination.
Do not list a seller without its FSSAI licence or registration number.
Make quick-commerce claims fully align with the product's physical label.
Keep at least 30% of shelf life or at least 45 days at the time of delivery.
Display hygiene ratings prominently.

Items 1, 2 and 6 are for the platform. Items 3, 4 and 5 land on you. Inc42 noted the advisory spoke of five measures but listed six and did not print the full text. We could not open FSSAI's own text, so treat the list as reported.

Checklist 1: licence and registration

[ ] You hold a valid FSSAI licence or registration for the activity you do (manufacturing, trading, importing, and so on). The right type depends on your business; check on FSSAI's licensing portal, FoSCoS, or with a food-law adviser. Thresholds are not covered here, because we could not confirm them from a primary page.
[ ] The licence or registration number is current, with the correct business name and address.
[ ] The same number is ready to be shown on the platform listing, because platforms are told not to list a seller without it.
[ ] If a distributor or third-party seller sells your goods, ask for their FSSAI number too.
[ ] Renewal dates are in a calendar, since an expired licence can mean delisting. Ask the platform what it checks.

Checklist 2: label and listing claims

FSSAI says quick-commerce claims must "fully align" with the physical label and unsubstantiated claims must not appear. So:

[ ] Product title, weight or volume, ingredients and any claim in the listing match the printed label exactly.
[ ] No claim on the page that is not on the pack, such as "sugar free", "high protein" or "natural", unless you can support it.
[ ] Pack photos show the current label, not an old one.
[ ] Any label change is reflected in the catalogue the same week.
[ ] You keep the proof behind each claim, such as test reports, in a folder.

Our quick commerce listing guide covers titles, images and attribute fields.

Checklist 3: shelf life at delivery

FSSAI asked e-commerce and quick-commerce food operators to ensure at least 30% of shelf life or at least 45 days remains when the product is delivered, on 12 November 2024.

[ ] You know the total shelf life of every SKU.
[ ] You calculate the minimum remaining shelf life you must dispatch with, allowing for transit and store time.
[ ] You plan on the stricter reading until the platform says otherwise. Reports say "or" and do not say which applies when they differ.
[ ] Short-life products (fresh, chilled) are discussed with the platform first.

The full working, with examples, is in the FSSAI shelf-life rule guide.

Checklist 4: records and documents for onboarding

We could not open Blinkit, Zepto or Instamart onboarding pages that list FSSAI documents (Blinkit blocks automated checks), so the platform's own list is the one that counts. A vendor blog on BigBasket's onboarding lists PAN, GST, FSSAI licence, bank details and address proof, but that is a lead, not a source. Keep these ready in any case:

[ ] PAN and GST registration
[ ] FSSAI licence or registration certificate
[ ] Bank details for payouts
[ ] Brand proof, such as a trademark certificate or authorisation letter, if you are not the brand owner
[ ] Label artwork and product images
[ ] Batch, manufacture and expiry date records

Platform-specific steps are in our guides to Blinkit onboarding, Zepto brand onboarding and Swiggy Instamart onboarding.

Checklist 5: handling and delivery

FSSAI told platforms to deliver food and non-food separately and to train delivery staff. These are platform duties, but your packing can help:

[ ] Food packs are sealed, intact and clean.
[ ] Strong-smelling non-food items are packed separately from food in your own warehouse.
[ ] Outer cartons are labelled with batch and expiry.
[ ] Damaged or leaking packs are removed before dispatch.

A 15-minute audit before you submit a listing

Pick your five best-selling food SKUs and do this for each:

Put the physical pack next to the draft listing. Read title, weight, ingredients and claims aloud and tick each one against the pack.
Write the total shelf life and the date you will dispatch. Work out whether the remaining days at delivery would pass 30% and 45 days.
Find the licence number you will give the platform and check the name matches the invoicing entity.
Note the claim on the pack that has the weakest proof. Either find the proof or remove the claim.

If any of the four fails for even one SKU, fix that before submitting the rest. A single mismatch found at review can slow the whole application, though the platforms have not published how they treat such cases.

What is not confirmed

The exact wording of FSSAI's order and advisory; we relied on news reports.
Whether the 30% and 45-day tests are alternatives or both apply.
How each platform checks shelf life and licences at inwarding.
Penalties for sellers. Inc42 reports only that FSSAI warned of regulatory action against marketplaces making misleading or unsupported claims.

Quick commerce spans many food categories. Flipkart, for one, names gourmet grocery, ready-to-eat meals and pet food among its fast-growing Minutes categories, and Amazon Now lists groceries such as frozen food. Brands entering these channels should assume FSSAI checks will apply.

FAQ

Do I need an FSSAI licence to sell on quick commerce? FSSAI's advisory says platforms cannot list a seller without displaying its FSSAI licence or registration number. Which type you need depends on your activity; confirm on FoSCoS or with an adviser.

Can I make health claims on my quick-commerce listing? Only if they match your label and you can support them. FSSAI said claims must fully align with the physical label and unsubstantiated claims must not appear.

What shelf life must my product have at delivery? As reported, at least 30% of shelf life or at least 45 days. Which test applies when they differ is not confirmed, so plan on the stricter one.

Is the advisory a law? Not confirmed. It is an advisory and directions to platforms; we have not seen the legal instrument. Platforms may still enforce it through their terms, so treat it as binding for planning.

Does this apply to non-food brands? No, it is an FSSAI food rule. Cosmetics, toys and electronics have other regulators, which this page does not cover.

Who checks hygiene ratings? The advisory tells platforms to display the hygiene ratings they hold. It is not a seller duty as reported, and the reports do not say more about how ratings are shown.

Next step

Work through the five lists above before you apply, then check your platform's own document list. Blooprint is a Bengaluru e-commerce agency that handles catalogues and onboarding for brands through quick commerce management, including making listings match labels.

FSSAI Compliance Checklist for Brands Selling on Quick Commerce: What the Advisory Asks and What to Have Ready