Question : Complaints filed under FSSAI Act- 2006

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

(a) whether the Government maintains any data on the cases/complaints filed/registered against companies who sold substandard, unsafe food items in the market;

(b) if so, the number of such cases/complaints filed/ registered under FSSAI Act, 2006 and action taken/ convictions made during the last five years, State/ UT-wise;

(c) whether a number of States in India are ill equipped to ensure food safety, owing to scarcity of staff and food testing laboratory infrastructure under Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), if so, the details thereof and the steps/measures taken by the Government to rectify this shortage;

(d) whether cases of adulteration, counterfeit brands and substandard quality of food products have come to light even after concrete steps being taken by the Government, if so, the details thereof along with the additional measures being taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to address this issue; and

(e) whether the Government has any data regarding the samples of food products collected, if so, the details thereof, State/UT/year-wise for the period 2017-18 and 2018-19?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) & (b): Enforcement of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 primarily lies with States/Union Territory Administrations. As per reports received from States/UTs, the details of food samples analysed and action taken during the last five years, State/UT-wise are at Annexures I to V.

(c): Many States/UTs have inadequate manpower for regulatory work and laboratory infrastructure. To overcome the shortage of regulatory staff for effective enforcement action, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) impresses upon the States/UTs to create adequate number of posts of Designated Officers/Food Safety Officers and recruit full time staff against posts. FSSAI has also insisted upon the States that Food Safety Commissioner should be a full time officer, which in most of the States have additional charge of the post.




FSSAI has also assisted the States under Central Sector Scheme for “Strengthening of Food Testing System in the Country including provision of Mobile Food Testing Labs ” (SoFTel) ’ and a sum of Rs. 269.69 Crore has been sanctioned/released for the upgradation of 38 State Food Testing Laboratories, including purchase of high end equipments and setting up of microbiology labs. FSSAI has also provided 54 Mobile Food Testing Labs, called Food Safety on Wheel, to 31 States/UTs. FSSAI also regularly conducts Food Analysts Examinations for ensuring availability of adequate pool of food analysts and is providing training to lab personnel of States/UTs.

(d): Yes. To evolve the overall approach to compliance, FSSAI is adopting a Risk Based approach towards inspections and surveillance aligning to global standards. Risk Based Inspection System (RBIS) is meant to strengthen and protect safe food supply and fair trade practices and to prevent fraudulent practices. Its objectives are to (i) prevent unsafe food to be placed in the domestic market;(ii) to draw a food inspection system from a product-based process to a risk-based process that can be used by food inspectors across the entire food sector regardless of the specific product(s) handled or manufactured; and (iii) linking ‘Risk grade’ with Licensing and Registration System.

Further, Regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection and random sampling of food items have been carried out by the Food Safety Officers and samples are sent to the laboratories recognised by FSSAI for analysis. In cases where the samples are found to be non-conforming to the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Rules and Regulations made thereunder, recourse is taken to the penal provisions under Chapter IX of the Act.
The details are available at Annexure IV and V.