Question : Adulteration of Food Items

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the fact that harmful chemicals/pesticides/insecticides/toxins have reportedly been found in high doses beyond the permitted Maximum Residue Level (MRL) in vegetables, fruits, spices, meat, milk and other food items across the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto along with the number of incidences of food adulteration reported, samples tested, inspection/raids conducted, cases registered, food items found unfit for human consumption and convictions made during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise;

(c) whether the Government has conducted any study/research in this regard, if so, the details and findings thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and

(d) the corrective steps taken/being taken by the Government to ensure MRL within the permissible limit in such food items across the country?

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA)
(a): The Government is aware of reports appearing in the media regarding higher presence of chemicals, pesticides, insecticides, toxins in some food items.
(b): Based on information made available to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India by the States/UTs, the details of food sample collected, tested, samples found adulterated/misbranded and action taken during 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, are at Annexure-I, II and III respectively.

(c): Enforcement of Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 and regulations thereunder primarily rests with State/UT Governments and accordingly, regular surveillance, monitoring and sampling of food products are undertaken by the State/UT Governments.

(d): A Surveillance Plan for States has been prepared by a Working Group of Food Safety Commissioners taking into account various parameters including consumption pattern for cultural/festival occasions. The State are at liberty to modify it as per local requirement and take action accordingly to prevent food adulteration. FSSAI has also requested Commissioners of Food Safety of all States and UTs to undertake periodical inspection and monitoring of major fruit and vegetable markets, soft drinks and ready to serve beverages to check the use of pesticides in food items.

Annexure-I
Annual Laboratory Testing Report in STATES/UTs for the year 2012-13
Sr. No. Name of the State/U.T. No. of Samples Analysed No. of Samples found adulterated and Misbranded No. of Cases Launched Criminal/ Civil No. of Conviction/ Penalties
1 Andhra Pradesh 1511 429 286 Rs. 55,000
2 A & N Islands 133 16 0 0
3 Arunachal Pradesh 198 11 11 2/Rs. 3,100
4 Assam 306 58 31 16/Rs. 2,45,000
5 Bihar 1407 371 249 0
6 Chandigarh 183 16 7 0
7 Chhattisgarh 353 142 111 45/ Rs. 11,84,000
Dadra & N.H. - - - 0
9 Daman & Diu (Gujarat) 44 4 - 2
10 Delhi 1383 145 50 62
11 Goa 610 31 14 1/Rs. 20,000
12 Gujarat 11047 881 46 7/Rs. 97,500
13 Haryana 1562 255 131 0
14 Himachal Pradesh 274 44 53 24
15 Jammu & Kashmir 2224 610 488 288/Rs. 28,52,050
16 Jharkhand - - - 0
17 Karnataka 3118 172 29 85
18 Kerala 12 3 0 Rs. 1,63,280
19 Lakshadweep - - - -
20 Madhya Pradesh 8101 2043 1183 844
21 Maharashtra 7800 757 114 228/Rs. 82,99,485
22 Manipur 165 2 - 0
23 Meghalaya 14 1 - -
24 Mizoram - - - -
25 Nagaland NA 0 0 0
26 Orissa 1871 418 0 0
27 Puducherry - - - -
28 Punjab 4782 553 304 92
29 Rajasthan 10236 186 - 295
30 Sikkim - - -
31 Tamil Nadu 474 78 48 2
32 Tripura - - - -
33 Uttar Pradesh 11086 2927 2551 1010/Rs. 3,70,96,600
34 Uttarakhand 964 186 134 55/Rs. 22,44,001
35 West Bengal 91 41 - -
Total: 69949 10380 5840 3175/
Rs. 5,24,95,016

Source- States/UTs


Annexure-II
Annual Public Laboratory Testing Report (2013-2014)
Sr. No. Name of the State/U.T. Total No. of samples taken No. of Samples Analysed No. of Samples found adulterated and Misbranded No. of Cases Launched No. of Convictions/ Penalties
Criminal Civil Convictions Penalties/ Amount raised in Rupees
1. A & N Islands 1 1 Nil Nil Nil 18/ Rs. 14,500
2. Andhra Pradesh 4038 4038 716 417 200 Rs. 39,94,385
3. Arunachal Pradesh 213 213 9 1 8 9/Rs. 6,33,000
4. Assam 435 435 53 26 Nil Nil
5. Bihar 1189 1103 121 19 71 Nil 14/ Rs. 2,26,000
6. Chandigarh 146 146 9 5 6 Nil 3
7. Chhattisgarh 294 294 112 56 Nil 7/ Rs. 3,49,000
8. Dadra & N.H. 6 6 3 Nil 3 3/ Rs. 35,000 Nil
9. Daman & Diu 40 40 0 0 0 0 0
10. Delhi 1187 1187 118 69 NA Rs. 15,73,000
11. Goa 704 696 37 6 7 2 Rs. 27,000
12. Gujarat 11111 10495 900 56 341 16 12/ Rs. 1,90,000
13. Haryana
2101 2101 293 37 223 37 129/ Rs.26,61,800
14. Himachal Pradesh 236 157 129 1 22 0 7/ Rs 7,00,000
15. Jammu & Kashmir 3109 2851 682 15 526 353 Rs. 2,76,600
16. Jharkhand 1075 725 144 99 8 Rs 22,07,000
17. Karnataka 2224 2153 133 59 3 72
18. Kerala 682 664 138 104 0 0 810/
Rs. 55,35,000
19. Lakshadweep
20. Madhya Pradesh 4743 4599 1433 233 603 3 133/
Rs. 29,32,000
21. Maharashtra 7677 7516 1523 1172 1385 49 17/Rs. 41,76,500
22. Manipur
23. Meghalaya 17 14 7 6
24. Mizoram No lab
25. Nagaland 66 66 21 0 0 0 0
26. Orissa
27. Puducherry 4741 4741 319
28. Punjab 6227 5884 771 203 3 77
29. Rajasthan 6375 6375 1160 436 112/ Rs.15,50,000
30. Sikkim
31. Tamil Nadu 707 658 261 8 40 16 Rs. 6,59,800
32. Tripura
33. Uttar Pradesh 11579 13554 4275 2930 409 1510/
Rs.4,47,84, 400
34. Uttarakhand 1503 851 169 5 117 Rs. 5,06,489
35. West Bengal
Total: 72,994 72,200 13,571 3105 7130 913 2932/
Rs. 7,29,89,474
Source:- State/UT Governments

Annexure-III
Annual Public Laboratory Testing Report for the year 2014-2015

Sr. No. Name of the State/ U.T. Total No. of samples taken No. of Samples Analysed No. of Samples found adulterated and Misbranded No. of Cases Launched No. of Convictions/ Penalties
Criminal Civil Convictions Penalties/
Amount raised in Rupees
1. A & N Islands 17 16 4 0 0 0 14/ Rs.4,55,000
2. Andhra Pradesh 2788 2788 290 338 78 0 Rs.51,63,020
3. Arunachal Pradesh 292 258 29 2 14 7
4. Assam 595 595 74 28 32 8 Rs. 70,000
5. Bihar 1763 1320 7 16 5/ Rs. 38,000
6. Chandigarh 102 102 5 5 Rs. 1,50,000
7. Chhattisgarh 133 133 27 14 41 16
8. Dadra & N.H 9 2 Samples are analysed by Gujarat State Laboratory
9. Daman & Diu 65 65 3 3 3/ Rs.30,000
10. Delhi 1480 148
11. Goa 798 800 81 1 4 4(12) Rs. 4,35,000
12. Gujarat 11981 11700 1243 37 465 30 178/Rs.56,13,500
13. Haryana* 989 989 105 08 114 6 Rs.1,500
14. Himachal Pradesh 796 725 461 34 42 18 Rs.8,88,500
15. Jammu & Kashmir 2592 2462 621 17 401 243 Rs.19,76,600
16. Jharkhand 716 509 112 41 24
17. Karnataka 2154 2110 311 56 42
18. Kerala 3085 2735 464 41 161 0 280/ Rs.72,39,700
19. Lakshadweep
20. Madhya Pradesh 9532 9131 1412 127 716 418 418/ Rs.43,28,000
21. Maharashtra 8663 6985 1162 869 1426 75 Rs.1,65,41,499
22. Manipur
23. Meghalaya 47 34 4 0 4 2 1/ Rs.10,000
24. Mizoram
25. Nagaland 83 83 11 0 0 0 0
26. Odisha 544 544 112 0 1 1
27. Puducherry 1946 1946 39 0 0 0 0
28. Punjab 8053 7860 1458 846 82
29. Rajasthan* 3132 3031 747 158 222 116 Rs. 8,45,500
30. Sikkim
31. Tamil Nadu 2939 2873 1047 64 486 203 Rs.34,99,700
32. Telangana 363 312 32 4 24 11 10/ Rs.17,57,100
33. Tripura 933 933 2 0 0 0 0
34. Uttar Pradesh 14173 9605 4119 161 3489 186 1738/
Rs.5,98,08,106
35. Uttarakhand 1971 1356 233 5 117 0 80/Rs.5,06,489
36. West Bengal 120 120 65 0 17 0 1/Rs. 30,000
Total: 83265 74010 14599 2676 7860 1402 2795/ Rs.10,93,87,214
Source:- State/UT Governments
Note: Annual Report not received; Data for the same has been compiled on the basis of half Yearly reports.