Lok Sabha Question No. 4164 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-20
Subject: Food Import Rejection Alert
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Damodar Agrawal, Shri Mukeshkumar Chandrakaant Dalal, Shri Ravindra Shukla Alias Ravi Kishan, Shri Manish Jaiswal, Shri Kanwar Singh Tanwar

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4164 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 TH DECEMBER, 2024

## FOOD IMPORT REJECTION ALERT

## 4164. SHRI MANISH JAISWAL:

SHRI MUKESHKUMAR CHANDRAKAANT DALAL:

SHRI KANWAR SINGH TANWAR:

SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL:

SHRI RAVINDRASHUKLAALIAS RAVI KISHAN:

Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has fixed any norms for import of food into the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the salient features of Food Import Rejection Alert (FIRA) along with the details of benefits thereof;
- (c) the status of the implementation of the FIRA in Jharkhand;
- (d) the details of rejected food imports during the last three years and the names of the countries from where such food items are being imported, year-wise/country-wise;
- (e) the details of the existing infrastructure for checking food imports; and
- (f) whether the Government has made any assessment of the effectiveness of the said alert and if so, the details thereof?

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

(a) to (f): The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), as the Food regulator of the country, ensures food safety of imported food items. FSSAI has its own Food Import Clearance System (FICS), which is an advanced paperless digital platform integrated with the Customs' ICE-GATE (Indian Customs Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange (EC/EDI) Gateway) under SWIFT (Single window interface for facilitating trade).

In order to regulate food import with the objective of ensuring food safety, FSSAI

has notified Authorised Officers (AO) at a total of 162 food import entry points [Airports/Sea Ports/Inland Container Depots (ICDs) /Special Economic Zones (SEZs)/ Land Customs Stations(LCSs)].

As per the provisions of Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017, FSSAI launched Food Import Rejection Alert (FIRA) portal in September 2024. 'FIRA' serves the purpose of an online Alert notification platform for both general public and Food Safety Authority of exporting country, which is also integrated with the Food Import Clearance System (FICS 2.0) of FSSAI. This portal provides information regarding the rejection of imported food items from exporting countries to India. Therefore, such rejected food items do not enter the Indian territory including Jharkhand. This Portal has several benefits: -

- i. Rapid exchange of information amongst food authorities worldwide on rejected imported food items in India;
- ii. Enables relevant food authorities/stakeholders to take corrective action for prevention &control any food related in their country;
- iii. Online interactive interface for rapid dissemination of information;
- iv. Serves as a valuable database for tracking rejected food products and further strengthening of the Risk Management System (RMS).

The details of Food Import Rejection Data is available in public domain on the FIRA portal at fira.fssai.gov.in.

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