Lok Sabha Question No. 5539 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-04
Subject: Measures Taken for Curbing Food Adulteration
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar, Smt. Shambhavi, Shri Rajesh Verma, Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5539 TO BE ANSWERED ON 4 TH APRIL, 2025

## MEASURES TAKENFOR CURBING FOOD ADULTERATION

## 5539. SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE:

SHRI RAJESH VERMA:

SMT. SHAMBHAVI:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI RAVINDRADATTARAM WAIKAR:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to curb food adulteration, including surveillance, monitoring, and penal actions against defaulting Food Business Operators (FBOs);
- (b) the number of Mobile Food Testing Labs, 'Food Safety on Wheels' (FSWs), deployed and their effectiveness in extending food testing services to remote areas;
- (c) the details of Pan-India surveillance conducted by FSSAI, particularly for staple foods and commodities prone to adulteration;
- (d) the mechanisms in place for consumers to report food adulteration complaints along with the action taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to address them; and
- (e) the initiatives launched by the Government to raise consumer awareness regarding food adulteration and ensure strict enforcement of Food Safety Standards?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) to (c): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is fully committed to ensure the availability of safe food products to the consumers across the country. For this, regular surveillance drives, monitoring, Pan-India Surveillance, regulatory inspection and random sampling of various food products especially on staple foods and commodities are conducted throughout the year by the officials of Food Safety Departments of the respective States/ UTs and Regional offices of FSSAI. The details of Pan-India Surveillance conducted by FSSAI

are available in public domain at https://www.fssai.gov.in/cms/national-surveys.php.

In the event of any violations, strict regulatory actions such as imposing penalty, suspension or cancellation of licenses etc, are enforced against the offenders in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 and as per the nature of contraventions. Targeted drives are conducted especially during festive/peak demand seasons through FSSAI's regional offices and States/UTs.

FSSAI has notified 243 laboratories for primary testing of food product and 22 laboratories for referral testing across the country. Further, there are 285 Mobile Food Testing Laboratory (MFTL) referred to as 'Food Safety on wheels' (FSW) equipped with basic infrastructure for on spot testing of adulteration in various food commodities across 35 States/UTs. FSWs have also helped in dissemination of information through training and awareness programs especially in remote areas.

(d) & (e): Complaints/concerns of consumers and Food Business Operators (FBO) are received by FSSAI through various channels such as Web portal and Mobile App, FSSAI Helpline, Twitter, Facebook, etc. These complaints are directed into a single portal i.e. Food Safety Connect Portal which is the part of the online Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS). Complaints are attended by the respective authorities and in cases, where the food samples are found non-conforming, penal actions are initiated against the defaulting Food Business Operators (FBOs) as per the provisions of FSS Act 2006, Rules and Regulations made thereunder.

FSSAI has implemented following initiatives to raise awareness about food safety among consumers, the food industry, and citizens:-

- i. Website and Social Media : FSSAI's website and Social Media pages provide accessible information on Standards/Regulations/Advisories related to Food Safety and on detecting food adulterants at home, offering practical tips for consumers.
- ii. Adulteration Videos : FSSAI has produced a series of videos that visually demonstrate methods for identifying adulteration in commonly used foods. These are available on the FSSAI YouTube channel and promoted on various other media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook time to time and are showcased at various public events and campaigns.
- iii. Resources like the DART Book offer simple tests for detecting food adulterants at home. iv. Food Safety Magic Box : This educational toolkit is designed for school students, teachers and parents, containing easy-to-use tests for detecting food adulteration through an interactive and engaging way for students to learn about food safety. v. Food Safety on Wheels (FSWs) or mobile food testing laboratories are deployed to reach remote areas and for conducting food testing and raising awareness. vi.
4. Food Safety Guidebook for Teachers/Students : The lesson plan booklet provides with the detailed information of how to conduct the different test on food adulteration. These tests are mapped across the curriculum of the particular grade.

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