Swiggy, Zomato served notices for delivering non-veg food in Haridwar's restricted areas

Food safety section of the Uttarakhand Health Department has served notices to Swiggy and Zomato for delivering non-vegetarian food in restricted areas of the holy city of Haridwar.

The food department claimed that both the leading food delivery aggregators have violated the bylaws of the city by delivering non-veg food which also hurts the sentiments of the locals.

While giving out details, RS Pal, the deputy food safety officer in Hardiwar said, "Local residents had complained to city magistrate Jagdish Lal recently. Following which, we were asked to investigate the matter. The two companies failed to show Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence to the teams that had gone to inspect their offices. The firms also had not obtained no-objection certificates from the municipal corporation to deliver non-veg products."

He added, "The bylaws of Haridwar municipal corporation prohibit sale of non-vegetarian food, including meat and meat products, within the city limits. This also goes to areas such as Kharkari, Har-ki-Pauri, Kankhal, Jawalpuri, Motichur and Haripur areas of the city."

Reportedly, both the food aggregators have issued statements regarding the issue. They apologised for hurting the religious sentiments and said that the incident would not happen again.

The Zomato's statement read, "We respect the religious sentiments of the holy city and will oblige with the directives set by the authorities." Zomato further added that they've applied for the licence in Haridwar and were working with FSSAI to ensure there are no complaints.

A spokesperson from Swiggy said that they deeply regret the omission for delivering non-vegetarian food in the restricted areas of the city. "We have addressed the issue and would like to reiterate that as of March 16, Swiggy is delivering only vegetarian food in Haridwar. Swiggy has a central FSSAI licence and only lists FSSAI registered restaurants on the platform," the statement quoted.

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