Ensuring Food Safety and Standard

Describing the framework put in place in the form of FSSAI and FSS act 2006 for taking Indian food processing industry to newer heights and making it more competitive.

The Food Safety & Standards Act 2006 aims to “consolidate the laws relating to food and to establish the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption”. It is worthwhile to mention that before this India had plethora of laws like Fruit Products Order, 1955,Meat Food Products Order, 197,Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947,Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1988,Solvent Extracted Oil, De-oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967,Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992,Any order under Essential Commodities Act, 1955 for dealing with various food safety issues .

FSSA 2006 incorporates the salient provisions of the PFA Act, 1954 and is based on international legislations and instrumentalities. In a nutshell, the Act takes care of international practices and envisages an overreaching policy framework and provision of single window to guide and regulate persons engaged in manufacture, marketing, processing, handling, transportation, import and sale of food. The Act is contemporary, comprehensive and intends to ensure better consumer safety through Food Safety Management Systems and setting standards based on science and transparency as also to meet the dynamic requirements of Indian Food Trade and Industry and International trade. Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011 involves FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 201, FSS(Packaging and Labeling) Regulation, 2011, FSS (Food Product Standards and Food additives) Regulations, 2011.,FSS (Prohibition and Restriction on sales) Regulations, 2011,FSS (Contaminants, Toxins and residues), regulations , 2011,FSS(Laboratory and Sampling Analysis) Regulation Act.

The Central Government, the State Governments, the Food Authority and other agencies, as the case may be, while implementing the provisions of this Act shall be guided by the following principles, namely Endeavour to achieve an appropriate level of protection of human life and health and the protection of consumer’s interests, including fair practices in all kinds of food trade with reference to food safety standards and practices”.Carry out risk management which shall include taking into account the results of risk assessment, and other factors where the conditions are relevant, in order to achieve the general objectives of regulations. Where in any specific circumstances, on the basis of assessment of available information, the possibility of harmful effects on health is identified but scientific uncertainty persists, provisional risk management measures necessary to ensure appropriate level of health protection may be adopted, pending further scientific information for a more comprehensive risk assessment. In case where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a food may present a risk for human health, then, depending on the nature, seriousness and extent of that risk, the Food Authority and the Commissioner of Food Safety shall take appropriate steps to inform the general public of the nature of the risk to health, identifying to the fullest extent possible the food or type of food, the risk that it may present, and the measures which are taken or about to be taken to prevent, reduce or eliminate that risk. Where any food which fails to comply with food safety requirements is part of a batch, lot or consignment of food of the same class or description, it shall be presumed until the contrary is proved, that all of the food in that batch, lot or consignment fails to comply with those requirements.

FSSAI and its mandate

The food safety regulator’s primary responsibility is to protect the consumer by ensuring compliance with food safety laws and regulations, given that the public’s well-being is the ultimate objective of a national food safety system. Producers and processors, in contrast, are in business to make a profit and that priority may well impair their perception of accountability to society. Therefore, it is also the food safety regulator’s duty to remind producers and processors of their responsibility to produce safe foods. This message can be made more relevant by explaining to food producers and processors that the safety of their products not only fulfills their responsibility towards society but may also be determinant in developing their business.

FSSAI has been created with the aim to emerge as a single reference point for all matters relating to Food Safety and Standards, Regulations and Enforcement, providing Integrated response to strategic issues like Novel foods, Health Foods, Nutraceuticals, GM foods, international trade, achieving high degree of consumer confidence in quality & safety of food,creating Investors friendly regulatory mechanism with emphasis on self-regulations and capacity building, Enforcement of the legislation by the State Governments/UTs through the State Commissioner for Food Safety, his officers and Panchayat Raj/Municipal bodies. Emphasizing on gradual shift from regulatory regime to self-compliance through food safety management system(FSMS), HACCP and ISO 22000,acting as a bridge by harmonising domestic and international food policy measures without reducing safeguards to public health and consumer protection and adequately disseminate information on food to enable consumer to make informed choices; Providing framework for food recall; Surveillance with the help of large number of food testing labs, creation of justice dispensation system for fast track disposal of cases; Covering Health Foods, supplements, nutracuticals; Issuing Licenses within a time frame of 2 months, Compensation to Victims (for any case of Injury/Grievous injury/ Death); Reward to informer (informing about the violators – adulteration etc.) by State Govt. The small food business operators need no licenses but only registration is mandatory.The Act covers activities throughout the food distribution chain, from primary production through distribution to retail and catering. 

The composition of FSSAI.

FASSAI is composed of 22 Members headed by the Chairperson(CP).it has Chief Executive Officer, Seven Ex-officio members (Jt. Secretaries of Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce & Industry, Consumer affairs, Food Processing Industries, Health

& FW, Law & Justice, Economic Adviser. In addition two representatives of Food Industry (Small & Large scale), two representatives of consumer organization, three eminent food technologists/scientists, five representatives of States/UTs, two representatives of farmers organizations and one representative of retailers organization.

FSSAI has central advisory committee headed by the chief executive officer with members commissioners of tall the state/UT .Representatives of food industry agriculture, consumer, research bodies & food laboratories, invitees from the concerned ministries. It also advices authority on the work programme of work, identifying potential risk and pooling of knowledge it creates scientific panel on functional foods, nutrceuticals,dietetic products and other similar products, methods of sampling and analysis.