Supreme Law News

Diwali and Food Adultration

Diwali time is also food adultration, causing harm to your health.

Today, newspapers headlines were shouting at top of voice , 700kg spurious khoya, 1kg adulterated paneer seized in Delhi. Its just the tip of iceberg. The problem is much bigger, despite having strict law on it.

Punishment for Food Adulteration –

Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has been created for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to control their manufacture, storage, allotment, sale and import to make sure availability of safe and decent food for human expenditure.

All entities involved in the manufacturing, storing, transportation or selling of food products are required to obtain FSSAI registration and comply with FSSAI regulations.

Adulteration

Adulteration of food is defined as “the addition or subtraction of any substance to or from food so that the natural composition and quality of food substance is affected”.

Adulteration can be deliberate by either removing substances to food or varying the existing natural properties of food intentionally.

Adulteration can also be unintentional due to ignorance, carelessness or lack of amenities for maintaining food quality.

Punishment for Adulteration

The FSSAI regulations provide for various punishment to persons who adulter food or food products as under:

Import, manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of any food article which is adulterated by allowing its quality or purity to fall below the prescribed standard, or is misbranded, or in contravention of any provision of the Act or Rules. The penalty for this offense is a minimum imprisonment of six months that may extend up to 3 years and a minimum fine of Rs 1000.

Import, manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of any adulterant not injurious to health. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of six months that may extend up to 3 years and minimum fine of Rs 1000.

Preventing a Food Inspector from taking a sample or exercising his Penalty is minimum imprisonment of six months that may extend up to 3 years and minimum fine of Rs 1000.

Giving a false warranty in writing in respect of any food article. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of six months that may extend up to 3 years and minimum fine of Rs 1000

Import, manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of any food article which is adulterated or any adulterant which is injurious to health is being used is punishable under Law. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of one year that may extend up to 6 years and minimum fine of Rs 2000

Sale or distribution of any food article containing any poisonous or other ingredients injurious to health, which is likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of three years that may extend up to life and minimum fine of Rs 5000.

Process for Checking Food Adulteration

The implementation and enforcement of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 rests with State Governments.

Random samples of food items are drawn by the State Food Safety Officers and sent to the laboratories recognized by the FSSAI for analysis. In cases, where samples are found to contain adulterants, action is taken as per the provision of FSSAI Act.

Powers of Food Safety Officer

A food safety officer is the authorized person to inspect the safety and security of food that is being served in restaurants or street food stalls. In case the food inspected by an officer is not fresh or had got spoilt, the FSSAI officer has all the rights to stop production of such food and issue a warning in writing to the organizer.

Further, Food Safety Officer can also search or inspect any place with the help of the police force. Usually, the search is controlled or managed by a search warrant .

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Dr. Ajay Kummar Pandey

( LLM, MBA, (UK), PhD, AIMA, AFAI, PHD Chamber, ICTC, PCI, FCC, DFC, PPL, MNP, BNI, ICJ (UK), WP, (UK), MLE, Harvard Square, London, CT, Blair Singer Institute, (USA), Dip. in International Crime, Leiden University, the Netherlands )

Advocate & Consultant Supreme Court of India, High Courts & Tribunals.