Parliament Question: Food regulatory ecosystem in the country

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE RAJYASABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO.2014 TO BE ANSWERED ON10th MARCH, 2026 FOOD REGULATORYECOSYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY 2014 # SHRI CHUNNILALGARASIYA: SHRI BABUBHAI JESANGBHAI DESAI: SHRI AMAR PALMAURYA: SHRI NARAYANAKORAGAPPA: SHRI SADANAND MHALU SHET TANAVADE: Will the Ministerof HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate: (a) the measures taken by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in the last five years to strengthen the food regulatory ecosystem in the country; (b) whether the measures taken are effective in curbing food adulteration in the country; (c) if so, the data in support showing the trend of incidences of food adulteration; (d) whether laboratory infrastructure of the country has been enhanced effectively; and (e) if so, the details thereof, and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER THE MINISTEROFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a) to (e): 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 Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006isa shared responsibility betweenthe Central andStateGovernments. Regular surveillance drives, monitoring, regulatory inspection and random sampling of various food products are conducted throughout the year by the officials of Food Safety Departments of the respective States/ UTs and Regional offices of FSSAI to checkcompliance with the quality and safety parameters in food products as laid down under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Regulations made thereunder. If any violations are observed, strict regulatory actions have been enforced against the offenders in accordance with the provisions of FSSAct. Detailsof numberof FoodSamplestested for last 5Years. Details of numberof FoodSamplestested for last 5Years. No. of Samplesfoundnon- Year No. of SamplesAnalysed conforming 2024-25 170535 34388 2023-24 170513 33808 2022-23 1,77,511 44,626 2021-22 1,44,345 32,934 2020-21 1,07,829 28,347 . FSSAI has established a network of food testing laboratories across India for the analysis of food to ensure the compliance with the quality and safety standards. As on date, there are 252 National Accreditation Board for Testing andCalibration Laboratories (NABL) notified for analysis of food samples and 24 Referral Food Laboratories for the analysis of appellatesamples. Further, to strengthen the food testing infrastructure in States & UTs, FSSAI has provided technical & financial assistance to the States/UTs under the scheme - “Strengthening of Food Testing System in the Country Including provision of Mobile Food Testing Labs'' (SoFTeL). Under the Scheme, 47 State food testing laboratories have been upgraded & 34 microbiology labs have been set up in the area of food safety & quality parameters. To bridge the gap intesting capabilities andextend outreach for on-the-spot food testing in the remote areas, where the laboratory infrastructures are lacking, State/UTs have deployed Mobile Food Testing Laboratories (MFTLs). So far, 305 MFTLs have been procured& deployedby States/UTs against the funds providedby FSSAI for 541MFTLs. *****