NEW DELHI: Food companies have said the product approval system should be restricted to new ingredients and novel items that don't have a history of safe use while criticising the functioning of the sector's regulators, saying it paved the way for an "inspector raj".
The firms voiced concerns at a meeting last week called by the health secretary. It is learnt the meeting was called at the PMO's behest to resolve the "crisis" on product approvals sparked by the Maggi ban. It is understood the ministry of food processing, PMO and other ministries want issues related to food safety and standards to be resolved at the earliest. The July 27 meeting was attended by industry bodies that have food companies as their members and YS Malik, CEO of Food Safety & Standards Authority of India, according to an industry representative who was present.
"If critical actions are taken by state FDAs, it is a huge opening for inspector raj. It takes years to establish a production unit and minutes to destroy it in a rush action. The prevailing thought that industry is always a defaulter is overshadowing the function of regulation and needs to be urgently corrected," the industry representative told Health Secretary Bhanu Pratap Sharma.
Officials in the health ministry, under which FSSAI functions, declined to comment on the meeting.
Soon after the ban on Maggi noodles in June, Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had openly criticised the effects of regulatory overreach. She said an "inspector raj" had engendered so much fear among packaged food companies that it was stalling overseas investment, killing innovation and threatening the government's 'Make in India' initiative.
Industry representatives alleged that FSSAI was implementing the product approval process through advisories, which have no legal standing. They alleged that the current approval system lacked scientific basis and discouraged innovation.
The representatives said product approvals should be made through notifications, which means the industry should be consulted while the regulations are being formulated. The current system of advisories is not consultative.
"The product approval system is self-defeating and has led to a severe crisis because FSSAI has decided to approve ingredients and additives which are already permitted in regulations and have a history of safe use," the industry bodies said.
OVERLAP BETWEEN NORMS
The industry bodies pointed to the overlap between the Food Safety and Standards Act regulations framed for broad food categories and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms for food on an item-to-item basis. While the regulations are meant for juices, BIS norms are set for each beverage type, such as mango juice, pineapple juice and orange juice. They suggested that critical actions such as sealing production units, ordering a ban or recall and the cancellation of licences should be decided by senior officers of FSSAI.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India, All India Food Processors' Association and the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Food safety discussions have intensified after FSSAI banned Maggi noodles, stating that it was unsafe and hazardous after tests found the presence of lead above permissible limits and mislabelling of flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate. Nestle recalled the noodles in an exercise that cost Rs 320 crore and another Rs 1,270 crore in brand loss, according to global valuation consultancy Brand Finance.
The government recently appointed former agriculture secretary Ashish Bahuguna as chairman of FSSAI. The position had been lying vacant since January, when the tenure of K Chandramouli ended.
ET View
Holistic action for food safety
Instead of placing all responsibility for food safety on food processors, the government must act to clean up farm inputs that make food toxic. Refineries must be made to invest in cleaning up fuel, so that vehicle emissions do not pass on their lead and other toxins to crops near highways. Untreated industrial effluents should not enter rivers or penetrate ground water. Agro-chemicals should not leave harmful residues. Merely cracking down on food processors can spoil an industry but will not make food safe for Indians.
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