FSSAI issues order to intensify food safety crackdown across India ahead of festive season to prevent sale of ‘adulterated, unsafe products’

The order calls for the strategic deployment of Food Safety on Wheels (FSWs), a functional mobile laboratory for food testing, in prominent markets.

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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had issued a directive to food safety authorities across all states and union territories to step up surveillance and enforcement actions against unsafe food products in light of the upcoming festive season.

The festive season typically brings a spike in demand for multiple food items such as dairy products, sweets, snacks and savouries including Namkeen, papad/fryums, edible oil, beverages, ghee, etc.

FSSAI calls for heightened surveillance, strict action

As per the directive, heightened inspection and enforcement actions are meant to prevent the circulation of “adulterated, counterfeited and unsafe food products”. Beyond the food items mentioned, the FSSAI also asks regional agencies to expand the list of targeted commodities as per local eating and consumption patterns.

In order to address this public health concern, all enforcement officials (Designated Officers/ Food Safety Officers/ Central Food Safety Officers), under the directives of their respective commissioners, will be deployed to conduct inspection and sampling in their respective regions during the festive period. As per judgement, food hot spots and other sensitive locations are to come under special focus in this matter.

In addition, the order calls for the strategic deployment of Food Safety on Wheels (FSWs), a functional mobile laboratory for food testing, in prominent market areas. Based on intel received, the initiative is meant to push for on-spot-testing of food safety norms, strengthening hygiene vigilance and boosting consumer confidence during a period of flooded demand in the market.

All relevant data in lieu with inspection, sampling, and outcome must mandatorily be uploaded or recorded on FoSCoS/FoSCoRIS on a real-time basis, the notice further states.

Also Read I FSSAI suspends Seven Seas Hospitality licence over foul odour, fungal growth, filth

Recent crackdowns to ensure safety compliance

The FSSAI has, in recent times, cracked down on multiple eateries and products to ensure compliance with food safety norms. The body recently banned the sale of Nestle's “Low Fat Dairy Whitener” after a sample of the product taken from The Lalit hotel in New Delhi's Connaught Place was declared to be “unsafe” and “substandard”.

FSSAI gave the company an opportunity to appeal against the Food Analyst's report under the FSS Act, 2006, within a prescribed time period. Nestle, however, claimed that the product was safe to consume and compliant will all applicable regulatory requirements.

A food vending unit was shut down in Govindpura, Manimajra last Thursday after the health department found the vendor running the business in unhygienic conditions, without registering with the FSSAI.

The official of the food safety administration revealed that the kitchen of the vendor concerned was found dirty, with food not stored properly and kept in open, walls not being properly painted, workers in shabby clothes, dirty utensils, and unhygienic washing area.

Hence, the order ahead of the festive season is the latest directive in a series of crackdowns by the food safety regulatory body to enforce compliance with safety norms.

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  Stuti Gupta is a Content Producer at Hindustan Times, based in New Delhi, where she is a part of the General News team, tasked with reporting on happenings across the country impacting domestic as well as international ecospheres. In her role at HT, she is responsible for keeping a track of incoming news updates, packaging stories and publishing them in a format best suited to their purpose. She holds a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Journalism from St Xavier’s, Mumbai and is partial towards working on international affairs. Apart from her interest in the geopolitical world, she is a keen reader, writer, orator, debater and learner who loves picking up new information. She has been recognized for her previous literary work at the international level with a Gold Finalist, Gold and Silver Award in various participating years at the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition along with winning the third prize and getting her story published in Children’s World in 2017. Barring academic and professional pursuits, she has a passion for travelling to new places, exploring new cultures and cuisines, documenting them through words and pictures and interacting with people from diverse backgrounds. She is also an avid enthusiast of studying art forms such as cinema, dance, theatre and music as a tool for cultural storytelling and actively participates in them.Read More