Lok Sabha Question No. 2995 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-06
Subject: Food Adulteration
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Ajay (Teni) Misra, Dr. T. Sumathy (a) Thamizhachi Thangapandian, Uday Pratap Singh, Jasbir Singh Gill

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2995 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6 TH DECEMBER, 2019

## FOOD ADULTERATION

## 2995. SHRI AJAY KUMAR MISRA TENI: DR. T. SUMATHY (a) THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN: SHRI UDAY PRATAP SINGH: HRI JASBIR SINGH GILL:

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  dan chemicals,  pesticides  and  artificial  colouring  in  food  items  i.e.  vegetables,  fruits, products,  sweets,  ghee,  spices  etc.  are  on  the  rise  and  which  can  lead  to  various  da diseases and adverse effect on human health, if so, the reaction o f the Government thereto;
- (b) whether the Government has any data available of the samples of food items collected 2017- 2018 and 2018 - 2019, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of complaints received and cases registered under Food Safety and Standards along with the action taken against companies engaged in food adulteration during the la years;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  issued  any  strict  norms  and  con ditions  to  curb  the  use  of hazardous  chemicals  and  chemical  contamination  in  agriculture  produce  and  processed  f products and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether any monitoring mechanism has been put in place under the FSSAI to prevent f adulteration  throughout  the  year  particularly  during  the  festival  seasons  and  if  so,  t 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 Oper for the last five years is Annexed.

It  is,  however,  stated  that  in  respect  of  milk,  in  the  Milk  Safety  and  Quality conducted  by  FSSAI  i n  May,  2018,  only    7%  (456  out  of  6,432  samples)  had  contaminants (antibiotics, pesticides and aflatoxin M 1) 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. Ther the conclusion was that milk in India is largely safe to consume though 41% of the samples d meet  quality  parameters.  In  a  subsequent  survey  relating  milk  products,  the  results samples  analyzed  (out  of  total  1048)  indicated  only  quality  and  h ygiene  concerns  in  milk products.    Further,  out  of  1,06,459  enforcement  samples  of  various  kinds  of  food  pro 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% s amples had labelling defects. (d) to (e): Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, prescribe  the tolerance limits of contaminants, toxins and residues related to pestici 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 Safety Officers of States/UTs and action has been initiated as per the provision of FSS A 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 adulteration and pesticides in the country, the state food authorities have been advised to  time  to  keep  a  str ict  vigil  round  the  year  with  enhanced  vigil  during  festival  season, regularly drawing food samples from all sources viz. manufacturers, wholesalers and ret and to take strict action against the offenders under the provisions of FSS Act, 2006.

……………….

Annexure

| Statement regarding number of samples of food products analyzed, found non- confirming and prosecution launched during the last Five years   | Statement regarding number of samples of food products analyzed, found non- confirming and prosecution launched during the last Five years   | Statement regarding number of samples of food products analyzed, found non- confirming and prosecution launched during the last Five years   | Statement regarding number of samples of food products analyzed, found non- confirming and prosecution launched during the last Five years   | Statement regarding number of samples of food products analyzed, found non- confirming and prosecution launched during the last Five years   | Statement regarding number of samples of food products analyzed, found non- confirming and prosecution launched during the last Five years   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Year                                                                                                                                         | No. of samples analyzed                                                                                                                      | No. of samples found non- confirming                                                                                                         | No. of Civil/ Criminal cases Launched                                                                                                        | Convictions                                                                                                                                  | No. of cases in which Penalties imposed / Amount raised                                                                                      |
| 2014-15                                                                                                                                      | 75282                                                                                                                                        | 14716                                                                                                                                        | 10675                                                                                                                                        | 1402                                                                                                                                         | 2795/Rs. 11,28,45,522                                                                                                                        |
| 2015-16                                                                                                                                      | 72499                                                                                                                                        | 16133                                                                                                                                        | 9979                                                                                                                                         | 540                                                                                                                                          | 3669/Rs. 21,65,98,989                                                                                                                        |
| 2016-17                                                                                                                                      | 78340                                                                                                                                        | 18325                                                                                                                                        | 13080                                                                                                                                        | 1605                                                                                                                                         | 4757/Rs.17,01,93,266                                                                                                                         |
| 2017-18                                                                                                                                      | 99353                                                                                                                                        | 24262                                                                                                                                        | 15121                                                                                                                                        | 5198                                                                                                                                         | 7627/Rs.26,35,41,067                                                                                                                         |
| 2018-19                                                                                                                                      | 106459                                                                                                                                       | 30415                                                                                                                                        | 21363                                                                                                                                        | 701                                                                                                                                          | 12734/Rs.32,57,78,087                                                                                                                        |