Karnataka’s Food Safety and Drugs Administration Department suspended the food licences of Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, and BigBasket on 24–25 August 2026, after inspectors found Datura fruits and seeds listed for sale as food, some packets carrying live FSSAI registration numbers. The order followed a citizen complaint and covers the supplying vendors as well as the platforms. Datura was reportedly sold as a “fruit” at ₹18–20 a piece. Amazon filed no response to the notice; Swiggy Instamart sought more time to document remedial steps; BigBasket said it had already withdrawn the listings. [1][2]
Datura never belonged on a grocery listing, and the toxicology shows why cleanly enough — the same numbers that got these listings pulled under food law are what a dangerous goods classifier uses to place the plant in Class 6.1.
What makes the plant toxic
Datura (Dhatura, thorn apple — mainly D. stramonium and D. metel in Indian markets) is a Solanaceae shrub. Its toxicity comes from tropane alkaloids, chiefly atropine (hyoscyamine) and scopolamine, concentrated in the seeds and fruit capsule. Whole-plant alkaloid content runs roughly 0.06–0.5% by mass; EFSA’s review of a Datura-contaminated feed study cites seed batches carrying around 2,710 mg atropine and 660 mg scopolamine per kg of seed.
| Substance / route | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Atropine, oral | 709 mg/kg (sulfate); mouse studies 32–1,040 mg/kg | Rat/mouse, wide inter-study spread |
| Atropine, dermal | >10,000 mg/kg | Rabbit |
| Atropine, inhalation (1 h) | >42,000 mg/m³ | Rat, aerosol |
| D. stramonium leaf extract, oral | ~822 mg/kg | Mouse |
IMDG Code Class 6.1 thresholds are set for acute, short-term exposure during transport, not for what happens if someone intentionally consume the substance. So even where a substance’s LD50 falls outside the Class 6.1 cut-offs — as some of Datura’s figures do — that doesn’t make it safe to consume: eating it in enough quantity can still cause serious illness or death.
Classifying it as Class 6.1
Packing group assignment for Division 6.1 substances follows IMDG Code 2.6.2.2:
| Packing group | Oral LD50 (mg/kg) | Dermal LD50 (mg/kg) | Inhalation LC50, dusts/mists (mg/L) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | ≤5.0 | ≤50 | ≤0.2 |
| II | >5.0–≤50 | >50–≤200 | >0.2–≤2.0 |
| III | >50–≤300 | >200–≤1,000 | >2.0–≤4.0 |
Where oral, dermal, and inhalation data indicate different groups for the same substance, IMDG Code assigns the packing group corresponding to the highest degree of toxicity shown by any route. Against this table, only the low end of atropine’s reported oral range (32–50 mg/kg) falls within Class 6.1 at all, in PG II; the more commonly cited rat oral LD50 of 709 mg/kg — and the upper end of the reported mouse range — sit above the PG III ceiling of 300 mg/kg and would not meet Class 6.1 criteria by the oral route alone. Dermal and inhalation figures are well above any Class 6.1 threshold on their own.
Toxic alkaloids are classified as UN 1544, ALKALOIDS, SOLID, N.O.S. or ALKALOID SALTS, SOLID, N.O.S. — Class 6.1, spanning PG I, II, and III depending on the tested data for the specific alkaloid mixture being shipped.
Why it can’t sit next to food
IMDG Code 7.3.4.2.1 prohibits transporting Class 6.1 dangerous goods — as a primary or subsidiary hazard — together with foodstuffs in the same cargo transport unit. 7.3.4.2.2 carves out one exception: PG III material of Class 6.1 may be loaded with foodstuffs provided it is not stowed within 3 m of them. PG I and PG II get no such exception — they cannot share a CTU with foodstuffs under any condition.
That’s the same judgment Karnataka’s order makes at the retail end: a tropane-alkaloid plant material has no business sharing a listing, a shelf, or a delivery bag with something meant to be eaten. FSSAI acted under food law because Datura was mis-declared as a fruit rather than moved as a declared toxic substance under appoicable transport regulations or consumer safety regulations.
Sources: [1] Business Standard · [2] Storyboard18
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