Amazon, Instamart and BigBasket face regulatory action in Karnataka over the sale of highly toxic datura as food. The companies’ food licences will remain suspended until they satisfy the regulator during formal proceedings.
BY PC Bureau
August 25, 2026: The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration has suspended the food licences of Amazon, Instamart and BigBasket after investigations found that poisonous datura (dhatura) fruits and seeds were being stored, listed and offered for sale on their platforms as food products.
The action follows complaints received by the department and an inquiry ordered into the online sale and distribution of datura, a highly toxic plant whose fruits and seeds can cause serious poisoning if consumed.
During the investigation, officials found datura fruits and seeds listed on online platforms for human consumption. In some cases, the products were accompanied by FSSAI licence or registration numbers, potentially giving consumers the impression that they were legitimate food items. Investigators also found packets of the products bearing food-related licence details stored in warehouses and made available for sale or distribution.
The department subsequently summoned representatives of the concerned companies and sought explanations regarding the sale, storage and distribution of the products.
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While Amazon did not submit a response to the proceedings, Instamart sought additional time to furnish documents detailing the corrective measures it had taken. BigBasket informed the authority that it had already discontinued the online sale of the datura fruits and said it intended to modify the product labels to prominently state “Not for human consumption.”
The food safety authority, however, rejected these explanations as insufficient. It maintained that datura fruits and seeds cannot be stored, marketed, sold or distributed as food, irrespective of the labelling or subsequent corrective measures undertaken by the platforms.
Accordingly, the department has ordered the immediate suspension of the food licences issued to Amazon, Instamart and BigBasket. The suspension will remain in force until further orders and can be revoked only after a formal hearing and submission of satisfactory responses and corrective measures by the companies.
The regulator has also taken action against the suppliers and sellers who provided the datura products to the platforms, suspending their food-related licences with immediate effect.
The companies have further been directed to remove all online listings, advertisements and promotional material offering datura fruits or seeds as food or for human consumption.
Datura: A Serious Poisoning Risk
Datura contains potent tropane alkaloids, including atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine, which can affect the nervous system and cause potentially life-threatening poisoning. Accidental ingestion can result in symptoms such as dry mouth, dilated pupils, blurred vision, rapid heartbeat, agitation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, seizures and loss of consciousness.
Children are particularly vulnerable because even relatively small quantities can pose a serious poisoning risk. Consumers are advised not to eat or prepare datura fruits, seeds or any other part of the plant.
Regulatory Action
The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration has reiterated that food businesses and online platforms are responsible for ensuring that products offered to consumers comply with food safety laws and are not falsely presented as food products.
The department said the suspension of licences would remain subject to further proceedings and that the affected companies and suppliers would have an opportunity to present their cases during the formal hearing process.
The action underscores the regulator’s warning that online marketplaces cannot be treated as an exception to food safety requirements and that products posing a known risk to human health cannot be marketed as food merely because they are sold through digital platforms.
