Parliament Question: Adulteration in Food

ORIGINAL IN HINDI Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3176 (OIH) TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026 ADULTERATION IN FOOD 3176. SHRI BHARAT SINGH KUSHWAH: (OIH) Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state: (a) whether complaints of adulteration in food against some companies engaged in processing of food items are being received continuously; (b) if so, the number of complaints received during the last three years along with the action (Investigation, suspension of licence, penalty, prosecution etc.) taken thereon; (c) whether the Government proposes to introduce new monitoring or testing system for strict enforcement of quality standards for companies engaged in the said sector; (d) if so, whether the Government proposes to provide assistance such as special incentives/subsidies/certification to processing companies for production, processing and marketing of organic and natural food products; and (e) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L. VERMA) (a) & (b) : Complaints of consumers are received by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), working under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) through the Food Safety Connect portal, which is part of the online Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS). On successful registration of a complaint, the concerned Designated Officers/Food Safety Officers (DOs/FSOs) and the Food Business Operators (FBOs) have online access to the grievances raised by the consumers. Regulatory action on Consumer complaints is taken by the concerned State Food Safety Department/Regional offices as per the FSS Act, 2006. The details of Consumer complaints received and resolved is placed below: Complaint Complaint F.Y. s Received s Resolved 2022- 23 4330 4074 2023- 24 4735 3993 2024-25 7705 5952(c) : 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 State Food Safety Authorities are primarily responsible for enforcement at the field level. Designated officers(DOs) and Food safety officers(FSOs) under the Commissioner of Food safety in the States/UTs are entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of this Act. FSSAI, through State/UT food safety authorities and its four regional offices, conducts regular localized/targeted special enforcement and surveillance drives including National Annual Surveillance Plan(NASP), inspections and sampling activities throughout the year to ensure compliance with the set standards, limits, & other statutory requirements under the Act and Food Safety & Standards Regulations (FSSR). Further, FSSAI has Risk Based Inspection System (RBIS) where frequency of inspection is decided based on risk associated with Food. If any deviations from the standards or violations to the FSSR are observed, the defaulting food business operators (FBOs) are subject to regulatory actions, including punitive measures, as stipulated under the FSS Act 2006 and its associated rules. (d) & (e) : Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) promote and ensure overall development of Food Processing Industries by incentivizing, setting up/expansion of related infrastructure through its Central Sector schemes namely Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY) Scheme, Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) and Centrally Sponsored – Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme across the country. MoFPI schemes are demand driven and it provides financial assistance in the form of grants-in-aid to eligible entrepreneurs for establishing related infrastructure. *****