Question : Food Adulteration

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

(a) whether the Government is aware of the facts that cases of adulteration of dangerous chemicals, pesticides and artificial colouring in food items i.e. vegetables, fruits, milk, dairy products, sweets, ghee, spices etc. are on the rise and which can lead to various dangerous diseases and adverse effect on human health, if so, the reaction of the Government thereto;

(b) whether the Government has any data available of the samples of food items collected during 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, if so, the details thereof;

(c) the details of complaints received and cases registered under Food Safety and Standards Act along with the action taken against companies engaged in food adulteration during the last five years;

(d) whether the Government has issued any strict norms and conditions to curb the use of hazardous chemicals and chemical contamination in agriculture produce and processed food products and if so, the details thereof; and

(e) whether any monitoring mechanism has been put in place under the FSSAI to prevent food adulteration throughout the year particularly during the festival seasons and if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) to (c): Instances of sale/supply of sub-standard and adulterated foodstuffs have come to the notice of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) through various channels. As per enforcement reports/data received from States/UTs, the consolidated report on food samples analyzed, found not conforming and action taken against the defaulting Food Business Operators for the last five years is Annexed.
It is, however, stated that in respect of milk, in the Milk Safety and Quality Survey conducted by FSSAI in May, 2018, only 7% (456 out of 6,432 samples) had contaminants (antibiotics, pesticides and aflatoxin M1) that make milk unsafe for consumption. Further, only 12 out of a total of 6,432 samples had adulterants that affect the safety of milk. Therefore, the conclusion was that milk in India is largely safe to consume though 41% of the samples did not meet quality parameters. In a subsequent survey relating milk products, the results of 399 samples analyzed (out of total 1048) indicated only quality and hygiene concerns in milk products. Further, out of 1,06,459 enforcement samples of various kinds of food products analysed by States/UTs, during 2018-19, only 3.7 % of these samples were found to be unsafe while 15.8% were found to be substandard and 9% samples had labelling defects.
(d) to (e): Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2018 prescribe the tolerance limits of contaminants, toxins and residues related to pesticides, heavy metals, antibiotics etc on food commodity. Certain pesticides banned under Insecticides Act are also banned under these Regulations.
As implementation and enforcement of Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 primarily lies with State/UT Governments, regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection and random sampling of food products including fruits and vegetables are being carried out by Food Safety Officers of States/UTs and action has been initiated as per the provision of FSS Act, 2006 against the defaulting Food Business Operators (FBOs). In order to ensure the availability of good quality foodstuffs to the consumers and for keeping a check on the problems of food adulteration and pesticides in the country, the state food authorities have been advised from time to time to keep a strict vigil round the year with enhanced vigil during festival season, by regularly drawing food samples from all sources viz. manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers and to take strict action against the offenders under the provisions of FSS Act, 2006.
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