Health department teams inspect Food business Establishments to keep tab on for adulterated foods

A team of health department visited Food Business Establishments in Dharamshala to keep a tab on adulteration of food and sweets. The team consisted of Medical Officer Health Dr RK Sood, BMO Shahpur Dr Sushil Sharma & FSO Manjeet Singh.

Advisories were issued to those establishments who failed to comply with the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006.

Very often food is adulterated by merchants and traders who are unscrupulous and want to make a quick profit. Adulterated food is dangerous because it may be toxic and can affect health and it could deprive nutrients essential for proper growth and development.

Dr RK Sood taking to HR said that we need to educate people. This is not to harass common people, but to ensure food safety and health of people. This will check adulteration, which pays major role in serious diseases like cancer, kidney failure, and allergies. Similar checks were being conducted throughout the district by BMOs.

He reiterated that every food business operator should have valid licence under FSSA 2006 or he has to face imprisonment upto six months and or fine upto 5 lakhs. The deadline for this is Feb 2014. Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments. The law lays 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.

FSSA 2006
Penalty for selling food not of the nature or substance or quality demanded.	Penalty not exceeding five lakh rupees.
Penalty for sub-standard food.	Penalty which may extend to five lakh rupees.
Penalty for misbranded food.	Penalty which may extend to three lakh rupees.
Penalty for misleading advertisement.	Penalty which may extend to ten lakh rupees.
Penalty for food containing extraneous matter.	Penalty which may extend to one lakh rupees.
Penalty for possessing adulterant. where such adulterant is not injurious to health	Penalty not exceeding two lakh rupees;
Penalty for possessing adulterant. where such adulterant is injurious to health	Penalty not exceeding ten lakh rupees.
Penalty for contraventions for which no specific penalty is provided.	Penalty which may extend to two lakh rupees.

Health activists have welcomes this move, “people had no fear of law. We Indians, when we go abroad obey all rules for fear of prosecution and strict punishment. This landmark move will go a long way in curbing such practices and promoting the food safety in the region”.

Food is declared adulterated if a substance is added which depreciates or injuriously affects it, cheaper or inferior substances are substituted wholly or in part; any valuable or necessary constituent has been wholly or in part abstracted; It is an imitation; It is colored or otherwise treated, to improve its appearance or if it contains any added substance injurious to health, or for whatever reasons its quality is below the Standard.

A lack of awareness, negligence, indifference and lethargy among consumers and inadequate enforcement of foodlaws and food safety measures also lead to food adulteration. We may be eating a dangerous dye, sawdust, soapstone, industrial starch, and aluminum foil etc.

They demanded that all designated officers should also use their powers and act to safeguard the health of the public, as action can also be taken against the food safety officer for not fulfilling their role. The Food Safety Officer shall be liable to a penalty which may extend up to one lakh rupee if he / she is found to be guilty of an offence under section 39 of the Act.

Critical shifts from Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) to FSSA
PFA	FSSA
Multiple Authorities	Single Authority
Adulteration	Safety
Inspection / Control	Monitoring Surveillance
Insufficient Enforcement Personnel	Full time district Officer, Food Safety officer under FSC