Parliament Question: Disposal of unsafe food products detected by food safety authorities

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE RAJYASABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO.1235 TOBE ANSWERED ON10th FEBRUARY,2026 DISPOSALOFUNSAFE FOOD PRODUCTS DETECTED BYFOOD SAFETY AUTHORITIES

1235. SMT. RENUKACHOWDHURY:

Will the Ministerof HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate:

(a) whether Government has taken note of recent enforcement actions by food safety authorities involving detection and confiscation of adulterated, contaminated or unsafe food products;

(b) the procedure followed in detection, including sampling, laboratory testing, re-testing (if any) and final determination of food items as unsafe or unfit for consumption;

(c) the mechanism for custody and secure storage of such food items once declared unsafe and the authorities responsible for their supervision during this period; and

(d) the process adopted for disposal or destruction of unsafe food products, including the agencies involved and safeguards to ensure environmental and public health safety? 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 and enforcement of the FoodSafety and Standards(FSS) Act, 2006isa shared responsibility betweenthe Central andStateGovernments.

FSSAI through its regional offices and States/UTs food safety departments, conducts surveillance,inspection, monitoringandrandom sampling tocheck& verify compliancewith the standards & requirements laid down under the FSS Act, 2006 & regulations made thereunder.

FSSAI isresponsible for layingdown science-based standards andensuring overall coordination, the StateFood SafetyAuthoritiesare primarilyresponsible for enforcement at the fieldlevel.Enforcement actions such as inspection, sampling, seizure, testing etc. are done as per the provisions laid down under FSS Act, 2006 and rules and regulations made thereunder.

FSSAI has issued advisories from time to time, including guidelines on environmentally compliant disposal of seized, rejected and expired food items. These guidelines outline procedures for safe and environment friendly disposal, such as incineration at authorized incinerators, disposal at designated sanitary landfills, and composting of biodegradable waste at certified facilities. All such disposal shall be carried out under the strict supervision of the competent authority. Further, disposal of seized, rejected or expired food items, including their packaging, into rivers, lakes, naturalwater bodiesor openlands isstrictly prohibitedunderany circumstances.

********