Lok Sabha Question No. 5981 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-04-11
Subject: Sub-standard Packaged Food
Ministry: FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Asked by: ASADUDDIN OWAISI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5981

ANSWERED ON 11 TH  APRIL, 2017

## SUB-STANDARD PACKAGED FOOD

## 5981.   SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI:

Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state:

- (a) the steps taken by the Government for regulating the import of sub-standard packaged food;
- (b) the regulation put in place for prescribing the labelling format of the imported goods and fixing the MRPs of such imported products; and
- (c) the mechanism framed for curbing the production of low quality packed goods by small retailer and manufacturers in the country?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SADHAVI NIRANJAN JYOTI)

(a) As per the information provided by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, FSSAI regulates import of food articles at six ports viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Cochin and Tuticorin to check for safety and quality of the imported food. It  operates  an      online  Food  Import  Clearance  System  at  these  ports      which  is  linked  with  Indian Customs Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data interchange (EC/EDI) Gateway (ICEGATE) of Customs through Customs Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT).  Food products, including frozen  food  products,    when  referred  to  the  FSSAI    by  the  Customs  Authorities  under  risk  based sampling (RMS) are subjected to visual inspection, sampling and testing in order to determine whether or not they conform to the safety and minimum quality standards prescribed under various Food Safety and  Standards  Regulations  such  as  Food  Safety  and    Standards  (Food  Products  Standards  and  Food Additives)  Regulations,  2011,  Food  Safety  and  Standards  (Contaminants,  Toxins  and  Residues) Regulations, 2011 etc.

Besides  the  above  six  ports,  there  are  another  136  locations  where  Customs  authorities  have been notified as Authorised Officers for the purposes of regulating food imports at those locations.

(b) The  labelling  requirements  for        imported  food  items  are  covered  under  Food  Safety  and Standards  (Packaging  and  Labelling)  Regulations,  2011  and  Food  Safety  and  Standards  (Import) Regulations, 2017.

Further, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution have informed that  under the  Legal  Metrology  (Packaged  Commodities)  Rules,  2011  it  is  mandatory  to  declare  the  Name  and address of the manufacturer/ packer/ importer, Name of the Commodity, Net quantity, month and year of manufacturing/ packing/ importing, Retail sale price and consumer care details to protect the interest of  consumers.  Further,  the  place  where  the  declaration  should  be  given  and  size  of  declarations  are prescribed under rule 7 & 8 of the said rules. However, importers are allowed to affix a label for making declaration required under these rules. As far as fixing of MRP is concerned, Maximum Retail Price (MRP) declared on various pre-packaged commodities is determined by the manufacturing companies themselves.  Competition  in  market  place  determines  the  sale  price  of  a  commodity,  depending  on demand, availability and quality.

(c) It  has  been informed by FSSAI that they have prescribed food standards for most of the food categories under Food safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.  These  Regulations  also  contain  list  of  permitted  food  additives  and      limits  of  food  additives permitted in food categories.

FSSAI  has  also  prescribed  the  limits  of  heavy  metals,  crop  contaminants,  pesticides  and antibiotics  residues  in  various  commodities  under  Food  Safety  and  Standards  (Contaminants,  Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011

The responsibility and liabilities of Food Business Operators (FBOs) including manufacturers, packers, wholesalers, distributors and  sellers are prescribed under  Section 26 and  Section 27 respectively of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Schedule  4  of  the  Food  Safety  and  Standards  (Licensing  and  Registration)  Regulations  2011 prescribe the sanitary and hygiene practices required to be observed by the FBOs.

The implementation and enforcement of the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Rules and Regulations made thereunder primarily rests with the State/UT Governments.

Food  Safety  and  Standards  Authority  of  India  regularly  follows  up  with  the  State  authorities through  intermittent  communications  and  interactions  during  the  meetings  of  the  Central  Advisory Committee in which Commissioners of Food Safety of all States and UTs are represented, for effective implementation of the provisions FSS Act and Rules and Regulations made thereunder.

Regular  surveillance,  monitoring,  inspection  and  random  sampling  of  food  products  are undertaken by the officials of Food Safety Departments of the respective States/ UTs to check that they comply with the standards laid down under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the rules and regulations made thereunder. In cases where the food samples are found to be non-conforming, recourse is taken to penal provisions under Chapter IX of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

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