Parliament Question: Adulteration in essential food items

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE RAJYASABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2842 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17th MARCH, 2026 ADULTERATION IN ESSENTIALFOOD ITEMS 2842. SHRI SANJAY RAUT: Will the Ministerof HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate: (a) the concrete steps taken by Government/FSSAI to curb widespread adulteration in essential food items such as milk, ghee, spices, honey, paneer and others, which pose a serious public healthcrisis; (b) whether Government has taken note of persistent enforcement weaknesses despite repeated concernsraised; (c)the mannerin which these enforcement gapsare linkedtoerosion of trust amongconsumers in domestic food products and damage to the credibility of genuine farmers producing safe staples; and (d) the specific measures proposed to strengthen enforcement, such as increased manpower, harsher penalties, rapid testing infrastructure, better traceability to restore agricultural integrity andpublic confidence? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a) to (d): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is mandated to lay 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. The implementation andenforcement of the FoodSafety and Standards(FSS) Act, 2006isa shared responsibility betweenthe Central andStateGovernments.While the FSSAI, is responsible for laying down science-based standards and ensuring overall coordination,the State FoodSafety Authoritiesare primarily responsible for enforcement at the field level. Designated officers (DOs) and Food Safety Officers (FSOs) under the Commissioner of Food safety inthe States/UTs are entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of FSSAct, 2006. Surveillance drives, monitoring, regulatory inspection and random sampling of various food products including milk, ghee, spices, honey, paneer and other foods conducted throughout the year by the officials of Food Safety Departments of the respective States/UTs and Regional Offices of FSSAI to check compliance with the quality and safety parameters and other requirements as laid down under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Regulations made thereunder. In last three years (2022-23 to 2024-25), a total number of 5,18,559 samples were analyzed, a total number of 88,192 cases decided with penalty, a total number of 3,614 cases convictionswere done anda total numberof 1,161 licenseswere cancelled. FSSAI has also developed Risk Based Inspection System (RBIS) where frequency of inspection is decided based on risk associated with Food businesses and issued guidelines. Annual inspections are to be conducted for all food categories identified as high risk. Total numberof Risk Based Inspections done inlast three years(2022-23 to2024-25) are 56,259. FSSAI extends financial and technical assistance to States/UTs for strengthening of food safety infrastructure inthe country.The support includesthe following:  StrengtheningEnforcement andCompliance such asLicensingandRegistration  Inspections andAudits, SamplingandTesting of EnforcementandSurveillance Samples  Consumer Grievance Redressal  CapacityBuildingfor Officers.  Strengtheningof FoodTesting Ecosystem such asHigh End/Basic equipment for labs  Promotionof FSSAIinitiatives such asEatRight Campus, EatRight School  Flexi Assistance such as Hiring of vehicles for undertaking inspection and sampling by FSOsandDOsTo strengthen the food regulatory ecosystem in the country, FSSAI has notified 252 food testing laboratories for analysis of food samples and 24 Referral Food Laboratories for the analysis of appellate samples. FSSAI has also provided funds for Mobile Food Testing Laboratory (MFTL) referred to as “Food Safety on wheels” (FSW) to States/UTs. It is an important means to combat adulteration as FSWs are equipped with basic infrastructure for on spot testing of adulteration in various food commodities. Currently, 305 FSWs are deployed across 35States/UTs. *****