FSSAI Appellate Tribunals in process of being set up in various states

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been in the process of constituting Appellate Tribunals in a number of states for the last couple of years, and they are yet to be constituted in such states as Assam, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

The states in which the process is pending include Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 

K Chandramouli, chairperson of the country’s apex regulator, said that setting up an appellate tribunal was the responsibility of each state government, adding that FSSAI would provide just the required assistance to complete the process. 

“The majority of the state governments and food commissioners seem to be disinterested, which is why the formation of appellate tribunals is pending in many states and in a few, the process hasn’t commenced,” he added. 

Chandramouli said, “It is very sad that the states are not taking the matter seriously. The states where appellate tribunals haven’t be constituted yet do not understand the importance of setting up appellate tribunals for food safety and for the safety of the people of the particular state.”

“Although the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, has come into effect, 14 states haven’t set up appellate tribunals. They should have Completed the process with the help of FSSAI authorities at the earliest,” he added. 

“Appellate tribunals are yet to be constituted, and the fact that their establishment is still in the process highlights the lackadaisical approach of the state food safety officials,” FSSAI’s chairperson said. 

“The lack of understanding of the process of setting up appellate tribunals, whether at the enforcement level or at the food business operators’ (FBO) level, has to be dealt with by the state governments, as the setting up of tribunals rests in their hands,” he added.

“Appellate tribunals have been established in just four states (Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Maharashtra) and two Union Territories (the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Chandigarh),” Chandramouli said. 

“The authorities of the states where appellate tribunals are yet to be constituted and in process should take the help of the states that have already established them, as they would be carrying more practical knowledge,” he added.

Dr H G Koshia, food safety commissioner, Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA), Gujarat, said, “The setting up of an appellate tribunal in Gujarat is 80 per cent completed. The state government has appointed a retired judge and a committee has also been formed.” 

“The judge would be deciding about the selection of tribunal officers. But now, due to the election, the ministers’ and senior officials’ signatures are pending. In a month, after the election result, the appellate tribunal will be in place,” he added.