Lok Sabha Question No. 4440 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-19
Subject: Packaged Food Products
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Harish Dwivedi, Vijay Baghel

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4440 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19 TH JULY, 2019

## PACKAGED FOOD PRODUC TS

## 4440. SHRI HARISH DWIVEDI: SHRI VIJAY BAGHEL:

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

- (a) the norms formulated to ensure the purity of packaged items in the country;
- (b)  the  details  of  the  penal  provisions  against  the  guilty  if  the  information/figure packagedfood items are found contrary to the norms during testing;
- (c) the details of the authorised laboratories established for the quality test of food country, State and location - wise;
- (d) whether the Government allocated funds to States for setting up of Food Testing Labor and if so, the details thereof indicating the funds allocated to States for the purpose last three years, State/UT - wise including Chhattisgarh; and
- (e) whether the Government is contemplating to make the relevant rules regarding food more stricter in view of the complaints received in respect of the packaged food items a the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINIST RY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has prescribed food standard most of the food categories under Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and F Additive s) Regulations, 2011. These Regulations also contain list of permitted food additiv limits of food additives permitted in food categories. FSSAI has also prescribed the l heavy  metals,  crop  contaminants,  pesticides  and  antibiotics  residues  in various  commodities under Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011

Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration) Regulati 2011 prescribes the sanitary and hygiene practices required to be observed by the Food Bu Operators (FBOs). Further, every FBO manufacturing pre -packag d food items has to follow the provisions of FSS (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 wherein it is mandatory fo pre packaged food to display nutritional information , list of ingredients, 'best before'  etc. as prescribed under sub - regulation 2.2.2 of the se R gulations. The responsibility and liabilities o Food Business Operators (FBOs) including manufacturers, packers, wholesalers, distributor sellers  are  prescribed  under  Section  26  and  Section  27  respectively  of  the  Food  Safe Standards Act, 2 006.

(b): Penalty  provisions  contained  in  Section  52  relating  to  'Penalty  for  misbranded Section  53  relating  to  'penalty  for  misleading  advertisement'  and  Section  61  rela 'Punishment for false information' of the Food Safety and Standards (FS ) Act, 2006 shall apply in cases where information/figures given in the packaged food items are found to be cont the norms.

(c): FSSAI, at present, has a network of 259 laboratories across the country comprisi 241 laboratories for pr imary testing (including 179 recognised and notified under Section 43 of FSS Act and 62 State Food Labs continuing under transition provision) and 18 laborator appellate  (Referral)  testing  recognised  and  notified  under  Section  43(2)  of    the  s Act. State/UT wise and location wise number of these laboratories is at Annexure - I .

(d): FSSAI  is  implementing  a  Central  Sector  Scheme  (CSS)  for  'Strengthening  of  Food Testing System in the County including Provision of Mobile Food Testing Labs' with an outlay of Rs. 481.95 Crores. Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs. 10 crore appx is earmarked f State  Food  lab  towards  renovation,  procurement  of  high  end  equipment,  setting  of microbiology labs on a case to case basis. The Central Sector Scheme, inter - alia, also envisages financial  support  for  creation  of  new      State  Food  Testing  Labs  (SFTLs)    in  the  Sta Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram subject to readiness of the State Governments. However, viable  proposal  has  been  received  from  these  States  so far.    State/UT  wise  details  of  funds released  during  the  last  three  years  for  upgradation  of  State  labs,  including  for  th Chattisgarh is at Annexure II.

(e): All  the  Rules  and  Regulations  regarding  food  items  are  constantly  reviewed  a necess ary changes are made as and when required to strengthen these.

## State/UT-wise number of food testing laboratories in the country

| S. No.   | State/UT         | Food Testing labs notified under Section 43(1)_ of FSS Act, 2006   | Food Testing labs notified under Section 43(1)_ of FSS Act, 2006   | Food Testing labs notified under Section 43(1)_ of FSS Act, 2006   | State Food Laboratories under Transition phase     | Referral Laboratorie s notified under Section 43(2) of   |
|----------|------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | State/UT         | Government                                                         | Government                                                         | Private                                                            |                                                    |                                                          |
| S. No.   | State/UT         | State                                                              | Other Institutions                                                 | Private                                                            |                                                    | FSS Act,                                                 |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh   | -                                                                  | Kakinada- 1                                                        | Vishakhapatn am - 3 Nellore - 1 Guntur- 1                          | Vishakhapatnam - 1                                 | Guntur- 1                                                |
| 2        | Assam            | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Guwahati- 1                                        | -                                                        |
| 3        | Bihar            | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Patna - 1                                          | -                                                        |
| 4        | Chhattisgarh     | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Raipur - 1                                         | -                                                        |
| 5        | Daman & Diu      | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Daman - 1                                                          | -                                                  | -                                                        |
| 6        | GNCT of Delhi    | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Delhi- 19                                                          | Delhi - 1                                          | -                                                        |
| 7        | Goa              | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Madgaon - 1                                                        | Bambolim - 1                                       | -                                                        |
| 8        | Gujarat          | Ahmedabad -1 Vadodara- 1 Bhuj - 1 Rajkot - 1                       | -                                                                  | Ahmedabad - 5 Vadodara- 2 Surat - 2 Gandhidham- 1                  | Surat - 1                                          | Anand - 1-                                               |
| 9        | Haryana          | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Bahadurgarh - 3 Panchkula- 4 Gurugram- 6 Panipat - 1               | Karnal - 1, Chandigarh - 1                         | -                                                        |
| 10       | Himachal Pradesh | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Baddi- Solan                                                       | Solan - 1                                          | -                                                        |
| 11       | Jammu & Kashmir  | -                                                                  | Jammu - 1                                                          | -                                                                  | Jammu - 1, Srinagar - 1                            | -                                                        |
| 12       | Jharkhand        | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Ranchi- 1                                                          | Ranchi- 1                                          | -                                                        |
| 13       | Karnataka        | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Bengaluru- 12 Mysuru- 1                                            | Bengaluru- 2 Mysuru- 1 Belgavi - 1, Kalaburagi - 1 | Bengaluru - 1, Mysuru- 1                                 |
| 14       | Kerala           | Ernakulum- 1 Kozhikode- 1 Thiruvanantha puram- 1                   | Thrissur - 1 Kochi- 1 Pathanamthit ta - 1 Kollam- 1 Ernakulum- 1   | Kochi- 5 Aroor- 2                                                  | -                                                  | Kochi- 2                                                 |
| 15       | Madhya Pradesh   | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | Indore - 5 Bhopal- 2 Jabalpur - 1                                  | Bhopal- 1                                          | -                                                        |

| 16   | Maharashtra   | Mumbai - 1 Pune- 1     | Mumbai - 1 Pune- 1                      | Nagpur- 2 Nasik- 2 Thane - 5 Navi Mumbai- 6 Pune- 7 Mumbai - 3   | Aurangabad- 2, Jalgaon - 1, Kolhapur - 1 Sholapur - 1 Ahmednagar - 1 Mumbai - 2 Nashik - 1 Sangli - 1 Satara - 1 Nagpur- 2, Amravat- 1 Nanded- 1   | Pune- 2 Navi Mumbai - 1    |
|------|---------------|------------------------|-----------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------|
| 17   | Manipur       | -                      | -                                       | -                                                                | Imphal- 1                                                                                                                                          | -                          |
| 18   | Meghalaya     | -                      | -                                       | -                                                                | Shillong - 1                                                                                                                                       | -                          |
| 19   | Nagaland      | -                      | -                                       | -                                                                | Kohima - 1                                                                                                                                         | -                          |
| 20   | Odisha        | -                      | -                                       | Bhubaneswar- 1                                                   | Bhubaneswar- 1                                                                                                                                     | -                          |
| 21   | Puducherry    | -                      | -                                       | -                                                                | Gorimedu- 1                                                                                                                                        | -                          |
| 22   | Punjab        | -                      | Mohali- 1                               | Patiala - 1 Ludhiana - 1                                         | Kharar - 1                                                                                                                                         | Mohali- 1                  |
| 23   | Rajasthan     | -                      | Jaipur - 1                              | Jaipur - 5                                                       | Ajmer- 1 Jaipur - 1 Jodhpur - 1 Alwar- 1 Udaipur - 1, Kota - 1, Bikaner - 1, Banswara- 1                                                           | -                          |
| 24   | Sikkim        | -                      | -                                       | -                                                                | Singtam                                                                                                                                            | -                          |
| 25   | Tamil Nadu    | -                      | Chennai- 1                              | Chennai- 14 Madurai- 1 Salem- 1 Hosur- 1                         | Coimbatore - 1, Chennai- 1 Madurai- 1 Salem- 1 Thanjavur - 1 Tirunelveli - 1                                                                       | Chennai- 1, Thanjavur - 1  |
| 26   | Telangana     | Hyderabad- 1           | -                                       | Hyderabad- 9                                                     | -                                                                                                                                                  | Hyderabad- 3               |
| 27   | Tripura       | -                      | Agartala - 1                            | -                                                                | Agaratala - 1                                                                                                                                      | -                          |
| 28   | Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow - 1 Jhansi - 1 | Prayagraj - 1 Ghaziabad - 1 Lucknow - 1 | Ghaziabad - 2 Noida- 2                                           | Agra- 1 Varanasi - 1 Meerut- 1 Gorakhpur- 1                                                                                                        | Ghaziabad - 1, Lucknow - 1 |
| 29   | Uttarakhand   | -                      | -                                       | Roorkee- 1                                                       | Rudrapur - 1                                                                                                                                       | -                          |
| 30   | West Bengal   | -                      | Kolkata - 3                             | Kolkata - 4                                                      | Kolkata - 1                                                                                                                                        | Kolkata - 1                |
|      | Total         | 12                     | 19                                      | 148                                                              | 62                                                                                                                                                 | 18                         |

## State/UT - wise details of fund  released under Central Sector Scheme for upgradation of State labs

| S. No.   | State Food Testing Laboratories   | Amount Released (in crore)   | Amount Released (in crore)   | Amount Released (in crore)   |
|----------|-----------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|
| S. No.   | State Food Testing Laboratories   | 2016-17                      | 2017-18                      | 2018-19                      |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh (Vishakhapatnam)   | 0.50                         | 0.00                         | 0.00                         |
| 2        | Assam (Guwahati)                  | 0.50                         | 3.50                         | 3.20                         |
| 3        | Bihar (Patna)                     | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 4.00                         |
| 4        | Chhatishgarh (Raipur)             | 0.00                         | 0.35                         | 8.60                         |
| 5        | Delhi                             | 0.50                         | 4.25                         | 4.70                         |
| 6        | Goa (Bambolim)                    | 0.50                         | 4.25                         | 4.70                         |
| 7        | Gujarat (Vadodara)                | 0.50                         | 0.35                         | 9.05                         |
| 8        | Gujarat (Rajkot)                  | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 0.50                         |
| 9        | Haryana (Chandigarh)              | 0.50                         | 0.00                         | 8.45                         |
| 10       | Himachal Pradesh (Kandghat)       | 0.50                         | 0.00                         | 0.00                         |
| 11       | J & K (Jammu)                     | 0.50                         | 6.00                         | 0.00                         |
| 12       | J & K (Srinagar)                  | 0.00                         | 6.50                         | 0.00                         |
| 13       | Jharkhand (Ranchi)                | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 5.50                         |
| 14       | Karnataka (Banglore )             | 0.50                         | 8.50                         | 0.50                         |
| 15       | Karnataka (Mysore)                | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 5.00                         |
| 16       | Kerala(Kozhikode)                 | 0.50                         | 8.50                         | 0.50                         |
| 17       | Kerala(Thiruvananthapuram)        | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 0.50                         |
| 18       | Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal)           | 0.50                         | 0.00                         | 8.45                         |
| 19       | Maharashtra (BKC, Mumbai)         | 0.50                         | 0.00                         | 0.00                         |
| 20       | Manipur (Lamphel)                 | 0.00                         | 0.50                         | 8.45                         |
| 21       | Manipur(Moreh)                    | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 2.40                         |
| 22       | Meghalaya (Shilong)               | 0.00                         | 0.50                         | 8.95                         |
| 23       | Nagaland (Kohima)                 | 0.50                         | 2.00                         | 6.95                         |
| 24       | Odisha (Bhubaneshwar)             | 0.50                         | 0.00                         | 8.45                         |
| 25       | Puducherry (Gorimedu)             | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 0.50                         |
| 26       | Punjab (Kharar)                   | 0.50                         | 3.50                         | 1.25                         |
| 27       | Rajasthan (Jodhpur)               | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 7.20                         |
| 28       | Rajasthan (Udaipur)               | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 7.20                         |
| 29       | Rajastjam (Jaipur)                | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 0.50                         |
| 30       | Sikkim (Singtam)                  | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 5.00                         |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu (Chennai)              | 0.50                         | 6.00                         | 0.50                         |
| 32       | Tamil Nadu (Madurai)              | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 7.20                         |
| 33       | Telangana (Hyderabad)             | 0.00                         | 2.50                         | 6.95                         |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow)           | 0.50                         | 2.00                         | 5.95                         |
| 35       | Uttarakhand (Rudrapur)            | 0.50                         | 0.00                         | 0.00                         |
| 36       | West Bengal (Kolkata)             | 0.50                         | 8.50                         | 0.50                         |
| 37       | Tripura                           | 0.00                         | 0.00                         | 0.00                         |
|          | Total                             | 9.50 67.70                   | 9.50 67.70                   | 141.60                       |