Lok Sabha Question No. 1359 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-22
Subject: Corruption in FSSAI
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: GANESH SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1359 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 2 ND DECEMBER, 2017

## CORRUPTION IN FSSAI

## 1359. SHRI GANESH SINGH:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of reported alleged cases of corruption, malpractices and irregularities in Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI);
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the number of cases registered and action taken against erring officials during the last three years and the current year, State/ UT - wise;
- (c)  the  number  and  details  of  notified Food  Testing  Laboratories  (FTLs)  operating under  the FSSAI, State/UT - wise;
- (d)  whether  the  existing  FTLs  are  fully equipped  with  international  standards  to meet  the demands of the Indian industry and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)  the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be taken  by  the  Government  to  bring transparency  in  the functionin g of FSSAI?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a): Yes, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has taken note of the c wherein instances of corruption, malpractices and rregularities have been reported.
- (b): The details of cases registered and action taken against erring officials during three years and current year are as under: -
- One  case  of  corruption/CBI  trap  has  been  registered  and  the  Competent  Authori ty  of FSSAI has already granted prosecution sanction against the involved FSSAI official
- In  one  case  the  Competent  Authority  has  proposed  institution  of  major  pena proceedings.
- In  one  case  the  Competent  Authority  has  decided  for  institution  of  minor penalty proceedings. Charge sheet has been issued on 24.11.2017.
- In  one  case  of  an  officer  who  was  on  deputation  with  FSSAI,  for  the  pointed irregularities by a Departmental Committee, the Competent Authority of FSSAI has tak a decision to institute Disciplinary action against him. Recommendations has been made by FSSAI to parent organization of the said officer.

In another case of an officer who was on deputation and has since been repatriated parent organization, FSSAI has recommended to the Disciplinary Authority of the officer in his parent organization to charge sheet him for the pointed out irregularities during his d tenure in FSSAI.

(c): There are 160 Food Testing Laboratories in the country notified under the Food Sa y and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 of FSSAI. Out of these 160 laboratories:

- 142  laboratories  are  NABL  accredited  laboratories  notified  by  FSSAI  under  Secti 43(1) of FSS Act, 2006
- 18 laboratories are Referral Laboratories notified by FSSAI under Section 43(2 ) of FSS Act, 2006 for the purpose of referral testing.

State/UT - wise  details  of  FSSAI  notified  Laboratories  is  at  Annexure.  In  addition FSSAI  notified  laboratories,  there  are  72  State/Public  Laboratories  under  various  St Governments.

(d): FSSA I notifies only those food testing laboratories which are compliant to ISO 1 which is an International Standard for accreditation of testing laboratories. These la rely  upon  the  standards  for  various  food  product  categories  prescribed  in  Food Safety  and Standards  Regulations,  2011.  FSSAI  Manuals  of  Methods  of  Analysis  &  Testing  of  variou foods  in  food  processing  industries  adopting  validated  methods  from  different  interna agencies are available and continuously adopted.

(e): To obvia te any scope of corruption, malpractices and irregularities, systems have developed  for  on - line  working  of  FSSAI,  so  that  human  interface  could  be  reduced  to  th minimum.  Further,  all  the  information  relevant  to  Food  Business  Operators  and  other holders is available on the website of FSSAI i.e. www.fssai.gov.into facilitate them  and to ensure transparency and hassle free environment.

## Annexure

## State/UT- wise Food Laboratories and Referral laboratories notified under Food Safety and Standards Act,2006

| Sr No.      | State/UT                                  | Number of notified Referral Food Laboratories   | Number of notified Food Laboratories by FSSAI   |
|-------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| 1. 2.       | Andaman &Nicobar Islands Andhra Pradesh   | 1                                               |                                                 |
| 3.          |                                           | - -                                             | - 3 -                                           |
| 4.          | Arunachal Pradesh Assam                   |                                                 |                                                 |
| 5. 6.       |                                           | -                                               | -                                               |
| 7.          | Bihar Chhattisgarh Chandigarh             | - - -                                           | - - -                                           |
|             | Dadra                                     |                                                 | -                                               |
|             | Nagar Haveli Daman &Diu                   | - -                                             |                                                 |
| 8.          | Delhi                                     | -                                               |                                                 |
| 9.          |                                           |                                                 | 1 19                                            |
| 10. 11.     |                                           | -                                               |                                                 |
|             | Goa                                       |                                                 | 1 8                                             |
| 12. 13. 14. | Gujarat                                   | 1                                               | 12                                              |
| 15.         | Haryana                                   | - - 1                                           |                                                 |
| 16.         | Himachal Pradesh Jammu &Kashmir Jharkhand | -                                               | 1                                               |
|             |                                           |                                                 | -                                               |
|             | Karnataka                                 |                                                 | 1 12 9                                          |
| 17.         |                                           | 2 2                                             |                                                 |
| 18. 19.     | Kerala                                    | - -                                             |                                                 |
|             | Lakswadweep Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra    |                                                 | -                                               |
| 20.         | Manipur                                   | 3                                               | 6 23                                            |
| 21. 22.     |                                           |                                                 | - -                                             |
|             | Meghalaya Mizoram                         | -                                               | -                                               |
| 23. 24. 25. | Nagaland                                  | - - -                                           |                                                 |
|             |                                           | -                                               |                                                 |
| 26. 27.     |                                           |                                                 | -                                               |
| 28.         | Odisha Puducherry Punjab                  |                                                 | 1                                               |
| 29.         |                                           | - - -                                           | -                                               |
| 30.         | Rajasthan                                 | -                                               | 3 6 -                                           |
|             |                                           | 2                                               |                                                 |
|             | Sikkim Nadu Telangana                     |                                                 | 16                                              |
| 31.         | Tamil Tripura                             |                                                 |                                                 |
| 32. 33. 34. | Uttar                                     | 3 - 2                                           | 7 - 7                                           |
| 35.         | Pradesh Uttarakhand                       | -                                               |                                                 |
|             | West                                      |                                                 |                                                 |
| 36.         | Bengal                                    | 1                                               | 1 5                                             |
|             | Total                                     | 18                                              | 142                                             |