Parliament Question: Prevention of adulteration in essential food items for children

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE RAJYASABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO.2811 TO BE ANSWERED ON17th MARCH, 2026 PREVENTION OFADULTERATION IN ESSENTIALFOOD ITEMS FOR CHILDREN 2811 # SMT. DHARMSHILAGUPTA: Will the Ministerof HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate: (a) whether Government has taken cognizance of the rise in adulteration in infant formula, baby milk powder, milk, fruits and vegetables and other essential food items for children, if so, the details of the cases reported in the country particularly in the State of Bihar over the past three years; (b) whether specific standards have been set to ensure the quality of food products intended for children; and (c) the strict punitive and monitoring measures taken by Government to prevent the manufacture and sale of adulterated food items to safeguard children’shealth? ANSWER THE MINISTEROFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a) to (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 implementation and enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006isa shared responsibility between the Central andStateGovernments. While the FSSAI, is responsible for laying down science-based standards and ensuring overall coordination, the State Food Safety Authorities are primarily responsible forenforcementat the fieldlevel. FSSAI has laid down science based standards for all articles of food including infant formula, baby milk powder, milk, fruits and vegetables and other essential food items including the Food Safety and Standards (Foods for Infant Nutrition) Regulations, 2020 for different categories of Infant food and formulae.These standards are uniform across the country. Detailsof enforcementactivity for the last 3years for allthe food productsincluding infant formula, baby milk powder, milk, fruits and vegetables and other essential commoditiesare asunder:- No. of No. of Samples Civil Cases Criminal Cases Year Samples foundnon- Decided with No. of Analysed conforming penalty Convictions 2024-25 170535 34388 30142 1265 2023-24 170513 33808 29586 1161 2022-23 177511 44626 28464 1188 Further, last 3yearsdetailsof the state of Bihar isasunder:- No. of No. of Samples Civil Cases CriminalCases Year Samples found non- Decided with No. of Analysed conforming penalty Convictions 2024-25 2863 124 25 0 2023-24 2806 126 79 0 2022-23 2935 92 39 0 ****