Karnataka suspends food licences of Amazon, Instamart, BigBasket over toxic datura sales
State food safety body halts licences after datura fruits, seeds listed as consumables; firms’ responses deemed unsatisfactory, hearing to decide reversal
Major quick commerce sites, including Amazon, Instamart, and BigBasket, have lost their food licences temporarily in Karnataka for allegedly selling the poisonous datura / dhatura (jimsonweed / thorn apple) fruits and seeds on their platforms, ostensibly for human consumption.
Based on complaints, the Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration Department had previously ordered an inquiry into the listing and sale of datura products by these platforms.
Not meant for human consumption
During its investigation, the department reportedly found that datura fruits and seeds were being displayed with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) registration numbers in some cases, implying that these were safe for human consumption.
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However, datura fruits and seeds are highly toxic and not meant for human consumption. Datura seeds contain powerful tropane alkaloids such as atropine and scopolamine, and their raw ingestion is extremely dangerous. It can cause severe poisoning, hallucinations, coma, or even death.
In Ayurveda, certain parts of the plant, including the fruits and seeds, are processed for specific external uses, while the fruit is offered to Lord Shiva for religious rituals on certain occasions.
Suspension may be reversed after hearing
The companies were reportedly asked to submit a response, which Amazon allegedly ignored.
Instamart reportedly sought more time to submit its response regarding the action it took, while BigBasket reportedly claimed it stopped selling the fruits, but would mark it as “Not for human consumption” in the labelling in future.
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The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration Department, however, found the responses unsatisfactory and directed the departments concerned to temporarily suspend the food licences issued to all three platforms. The suspension may be reversed after a hearing.
The businesses providing these online platforms with datura products will also lose their licences temporarily, while all other food business operators offering datura fruits or seeds for human consumption have been asked to remove these immediately.