The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare highlighted the steps taken by the FSSAI to curb adulteration in food items during 2022‑2025.
Key Developments (2022‑23 to 2024‑25)
- Analyzed 5,18,559 samples across categories such as milk, ghee, spices, honey and paneer.
- Imposed 88,192 penalties and secured 3,614 convictions; 1,161 licences cancelled.
- Conducted 56,259 risk‑based inspections under the Risk Based Inspection System (RBIS).
- Notified 252 food testing laboratories and 24 Referral Food Laboratories for routine and appellate testing.
- Deployed 305 Food Safety on Wheels (FSW) units in 35 States/UTs for on‑spot adulteration checks.
Important Facts
The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is implemented jointly by the centre and states. While the FSSAI formulates standards and coordinates, the State Food Safety Authorities enforce them on the ground.
Enforcement officers – Designated Officers (DOs) and Food Safety Officers (FSOs) – carry out surveillance drives, random sampling and inspections throughout the year.
Financial and technical assistance from the centre strengthens state capacity in licensing, inspections, sampling, testing, consumer grievance redressal, and capacity building. The assistance also funds high‑end lab equipment and flexible resources such as vehicles for field work.
UPSC Relevance
Understanding the food safety framework is essential for GS 2 (Polity) – the constitutional and administrative set‑up of central‑state cooperation, and for GS 3 (Economy) – the impact of adulteration on public health, consumer confidence and market efficiency. The data on sample testing, penalties and convictions illustrate how regulatory mechanisms translate policy into measurable outcomes, a frequent UPSC essay and answer‑writing topic.
Way Forward
- Expand the network of mobile labs to cover remote districts, ensuring rapid detection.
- Integrate digital traceability (e‑certificates, QR codes) for high‑risk food categories.
- Enhance public awareness through campaigns like “Eat Right Campus/School” to create demand‑side vigilance.
- Strengthen inter‑state data sharing to curb cross‑border adulteration networks.
- Periodically review and update risk criteria in the RBIS to reflect emerging food trends.