“I do not feel FSSA, 2006, is within the priority of our present government”

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had been assigned with the implementation of a science-based uniform food law in the country that repealed several other laws and brought the industry under one umbrella—Food Safety and Standards Act. However, the FSSAI had to meet with a number of impediments even before it started to sail, a chat with Bejon Misra, consumer expert and member, FSSAI, throws more light on the issue

Tell us about your role in the FSSAI.
I was made a member of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in the year 2008, when it was formed and founded for the first time as the new law "Food Safety and Standards Act 2006." I was representing the interest of the consumers within the FSSAI.

What are the consumer concerns you have presented to the Authority and the outcome of your action?
Well, these would be:
a. Empowering consumers to demand safe and quality food through effective communication initiatives and making public the "Citizens’ Charter of FSSAI Consumers" to ensure accountability and transparency in its working.
b. Resources to be provided to registered consumer organisations with good track record to organise consumer education programmes.
c. A robust tracing and tracking system to alert consumers on food contamination and unhealthy food.
d. Strong labelling information on the GMOs and other harmful additives and ingredients as prescribed in the law.    The outcome has been that work has started in all the four issues but no tangible results in the interest of the consumer till date have taken place and we are still struggling to make these issues a tangible reality in India.

What has been the biggest achievement of the FSSAI so far?
A structured office with a secretariat, several consultations and meetings with the various stakeholders including participation by the FSSAI officials at various events in India and overseas Codex Committee meetings…

Is the leadership strong enough to bring about the intended reforms?
I do not feel FSSA (Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006) is within the priority of our present government. We do not have a chairperson for more than six months and there has been a complete disconnect between the policy-makers and the implementation authority. The state governments are yet to wake up on the new law and its implementation and the Central government is unable to mobilise the support from the states on its prompt implementation. After five years the rules have got finally notified and the rollout plan seems unclear and direction-less.

Are there any difficulties in setting up the required machinery / infrastructure and pooling resources in bringing about the implementation of the Act?
Yes, lack of strong leadership with a commitment and passion for reforms in the food standards and its implementation programme. The biggest difficulty is lack of right kind of resources and involvement of technically competent experts on the subject who have the time to work at the district level of our country in an unbiased manner in the interest of all the stakeholders. We must create good models at the state level and encourage good players from the food industry who demonstrate best practices in the interest of the consumer.

Do you think members and the Authority as a whole have the right spirit to inculcate a culture of food safety in the industry and the masses? 
The involvement of the members is only confined to the three meetings during the year and invitation to some events or seminars. The members selected within the Authority are experts on their respective clusters but unfortunately their involvement is not as desired because of lack of motivation and proper working processes. Of course, the members could have done much better if the FSSAI governance would have been more efficient and effective. Lots can be achieved, only if the processes are made accountable and transparent.

Would you call the Act industry-friendly or consumer-friendly? Why?
The law is excellent in its present form but could be made more consumer-friendly by strengthening the rules on enforcements and prompt redressal on complaints and violations with deterrent penalties to ensure effective implementation of the existing law.

The Authority has been questioned for delaying the implementation of the Act. Do you agree that procedural delays could be avoided?
Yes, I agree. The implementation of the Act has got delayed beyond acceptable timeline. Of course they could have been avoided provided the chairman was more independent and was given a free hand to ensure he could select his own team and work in a manner which would provide the best results. The FSSAI should get insulated from political and bureaucratic interference. The Authority should meet more regularly and be free to use the public resource in an efficient and transparent manner.

FSSAI is completely an autonomous body. However, the Supreme Court had to intervene several times...Is there a need to have a watchdog to monitor its functioning? Why?
As I mentioned, we do not need to create another body to become a watchdog to FSSAI. We have scarce resources in our country and already have several watchdogs like CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) and others. What we need is an independent working culture with clear accountable processes and active involvement of the members on a day-to-day basis to ensure the secretariat is working in an efficient and effective manner. We have to bring best management practices and learn from other countries which have similar regulators. We have enough bodies in our country as regulators or watchdogs, which are expensive and a burden to the consumers. What we need is lean governance with efficient outcomes in the interest of all the stakeholders.

Do you think we have a competitive team in terms of scientific panels and committees to bring in regulatory reforms for the industry?
I cannot comment on this because I have really not studied this aspect yet but I am happy that these committees are now devoid of representatives from industry who are still on their roles or engaged as consultants. All such committees should have neutral and competent persons of repute to bring reforms in the food sector in India.

What are the challenges that the Authority would now need to overcome in terms of standard-making, implementation and enforcement?
The biggest challenge is to make FSSAI the official standards-setting body in India on food and not BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). This will ensure harmonising the process and making it accountable. The next big task is to bring all the state governments on the same page and encourage prompt reforms by providing incentives and support systems by engaging private sector with the best track record and not depend on public structures, which should be made accessible at a competitive price. The state governments should only ensure implementation and enforcement and not be service providers but service purchasers from the best entities.

Will the new Act benefit the Indian consumers in a big way?
Of course, the new Act is supposed to benefit the Indian consumer in a big way and that is why we agreed to support this new legislation but not in the manner it is handled today. By now we should have notified the best standards as per Codex Guidelines, we should have had an excellent tracing and tracking system in place, studies conducted on food contaminants and adverse effect of unhealthy food, penalties on misleading and deceptive advertisements, consumer awareness and education on access to safe and quality food and finally a strong regulatory mechanism at the Central and state level.

Are the consumer concerns sufficiently being represented to the Authority?
No. Unfortunately the consumer organisations in India lack the technical competence and resources required to intervene before the FSSAI and it is for the government to find a solution to this unfortunate state of affairs with the consumer organisations in India. Even though the Planning Commission has provided substantial budget to the various ministries on empowering the Indian consumer, I still find very little is done to institutionalise the process of intellectual intervention before the FSSAI to represent consumer concerns. Whatever representations are done are also not encouraged and implemented in the manner desired by the consumer. The law provided two consumer representatives within the Authority but their concerns are rarely heard and recognised by the secretariat of the FSSAI.