Lok Sabha Question No. 737 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-29
Subject: Food Safety Violations
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Shri M K Raghavan

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.737 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29 th NOVEMBER, 2024

## FOOD SAFETY VIOLATIONS

## 737. SHRI M K RAGHAVAN:

Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has noticed an increase in food safety violations in India due to a lack of strict laws and if so, the details thereof; (b) the measures taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to check the food safety violations; (c) whether the use of certain substances in food preparations in the country is still permitted in the country that are restricted in other parts of the world including the European Union and USA; and (d) if so, the details thereof along with the steps being taken to address this issue?

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

(a) & (b): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was established in 2008 under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 primarily 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 wholesome food for human consumption.

The FSS Act includes specific provisions for penal action concerning substandard food, misbranded food, and unsafe food. FSSAI through its regional offices and State/ Union Territories conducts regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection, and random sampling of food products. In cases where food samples are found to be non- conforming, penal action is taken against the defaulting Food Business Operators as per the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, Rules and Regulations. Further, to extend reach of basic testing facilities even in remote areas, FSSAI has provided mobile food testing labs called Food Safety on Wheels (FSWs).

Details of various samples analysed and found non-conforming during enforcement of various Food Safety and Standards Regulations are as below::-

|   S.No | Year    |   No of Samples Analysed |   No of Samples found non- conforming |   Percentage of Samples found non- conforming(%) |
|--------|---------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | 2020-21 |                   107829 |                                 28347 |                                            26.28 |
|      2 | 2021-22 |                   144345 |                                 32934 |                                            22.81 |
|      3 | 2022-23 |                   177511 |                                 44626 |                                            25.13 |
|      4 | 2023-24 |                   170513 |                                 33808 |                                            19.82 |

(c) & (d) FSSAI formulates the standards of food articles on the basis of risk assessment. The substances permitted for use in food products may vary according to the risk assessment and country specific requirements of regulatory bodies.

In India, the substances permitted as well as prohibited for use in food preparations as per the Food Safety and Standards Regulations are based on the scientific advice provided by the independent risk assessment bodies i.e. Scientific Panels and Scientific Committee considering the country specific requirements.

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