Lok Sabha Question No. 3886 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-11
Subject: Challenges of Food Contamination
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Pritam Gopinath Munde, Rahul Ramesh Shewale

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3886 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH AUGUST, 2023

## CHALLENGES OF FOOD CONTAMINATION

## 3886. SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU: DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE: SHRI RAHULRAMESH SHEWALE:

Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is essential to tackle the challenges of food contamination, lifestyle diseases, and imbalance in nutrition intake in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to frame the universal food safety standards along with country- specific standards after detailed discussions at a global level and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether there has been a shortage of manpower to check adulteration in foods in various parts of the country, and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise, particularly in Odisha; and
- (d) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government for detailed discussions and deliberations on food safety at the global platform on the lines of the World Health Assembly and the success achieved so far in this regard?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) to (c): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of safe and quality food for human consumption. FSSAI harmonizes the standards with international standards including Codex standards. Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is a Joint inter governmental body of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations.

National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Stroke (NPCDCS) launched in 2010 as part of the National Health Mission

(NHM) aims to strengthen healthcare infrastructure and promote awareness for the prevention and management of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

The implementation and enforcement of provisions under Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 and Rules and Regulations, including recruitment of manpower, primarily lies with the State/UT Government. As per the information provided by the States/ UTs, 3258 Designated Officers (DOs)/ Food Safety Officers (FSOs) are posted in the States/ UTs. In the State of Odisha, 100 DOs/ FSOs are posted.

(d): India as a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), an international food standards organization jointly established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), participates in the meetings of the Commission and its technical committees. The Codex Standards (food standards, guidelines, codes of practice etc.) developed by the Commission are primarily based on the concepts of food safety thereby contributing to the protection of consumer health.

………………….