Food Safety in India: Analyzing Government Initiatives and Actions

Food Safety in India is a requirement of the ever-increasing population and the increasing incidence of food-borne illness worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, unsafe food causes 600 million cases of foodborne diseases and 420,000 deaths globally every year. 30% of foodborne deaths occur among children under 5 years of age. According to the WHO estimates, 33 million years of healthy lives are lost due to eating unsafe food globally each year, and this number is likely an underestimation. Hence, India has started to strengthen its food testing infrastructure to reduce the burden on its economy.

Food Testing Labs

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) will financially support the establishment of 100 new NABL-accredited food testing labs across India in the financial year 2025-26. 

Part of PMKSY

The initiative is part of the government’s broader plan under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), which has allocated ₹503.47 crore for 205 laboratory projects. Out of these, 169 projects have already been completed, with ₹349.21 crore disbursed. 

Meeting Regulatory Requirements

These labs play a crucial role in meeting the requirements of major regulatory bodies. National bodies include the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Export Inspection Council of India (EIC), the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), and international agencies include the USFDA and EU agencies.

Crops Covered

Farmers and producers in sectors such as citrus fruits, green peas, cauliflower, carrots (both fresh and frozen), milk and milk products, basmati rice, wheat, millets like bajra and sorghum, mustard and sunflower oilseeds, and farm-produced shrimp will benefit from these state-of-the-art facilities. 

Meeting Global Standards

These laboratories help ensure compliance with global standards, support exports, and improve the overall quality of food products, ultimately contributing to higher income for farmers and job creation, particularly for skilled technical personnel.

SOFTeL Scheme

It stands for Strengthening of Food Testing System in the Country, including provision of Mobile Food Testing Labs (SOFTeL). The scheme focuses on all aspects of the food testing system. It includes strengthening of state food labs and referral labs, capacity building of food analysts and other technical personnel engaged in the analysis of food (both within and outside the Government), and incentivisation of the states for using the testing facilities already available in the FSSAI notified labs. The scheme aims to reduce the burden on the government labs.

Nodal Agency: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

Objective: The scheme also envisages involving schools and colleges in our endeavor to ensure safe and wholesome food by generating awareness among the school and college-going youth through exposure to the food testing in their internal labs.

Components of the SoFTEL Scheme

The SoFTeL scheme has six major components, viz.

1.   Strengthening of State Food Testing labs
2.   Strengthening of Referral Food Testing Labs
3.   Support for Mobile Food Labs
4.   Capacity Building of Food Testing Laboratories Personnel
5.   Incentivising States to utilise the facilities available in FSSAI Notified Labs
6.   School Food & Hygiene Programme

 Other Initiatives

Eat Right India Campaign

This scheme aims to launch a nationwide campaign for India for increased awareness of consumers towards healthy, safe and sustainable eating habits. The scheme also includes certification programmes and conducting IEC activities through media for raising consumer awareness.

‘Food Safety Connect’

It is an online grievance portal on the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS). It has been launched by FSSAI. Under it, a consumer can register a complaint relating to the food articles. Further, Food Business Operators (FBOs) are required to mandatorily display the License / Registration number on the invoices/ sale or cash receipts, enabling consumers to make informed choices while making food purchases.

Consumer Protection Act, 2019

This act has also provided several rights to consumers regarding food safety compliance. It includes:

• Establishment of three-tier quasi-judicial machinery, called Consumer Commissions,  at the District, State, and National levels to provide simple and speedy redressal to consumer disputes;
• Establishment of a Central Consumer Protection Authority(CCPA),
• Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, to regulate misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices affecting consumers as a class;
• Simplification of the adjudication process in the Consumer Commissions, such as enhancing the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Consumer Commissions,
• Filing ofa  complaint from the Consumer Commission having jurisdiction over the place of work/residence of the consumer, irrespective of the place of transaction,
• E-filing and e-payment, videoconferencing for hearing, deemed admissibility of complaints if admissibility is not decided within 21 days of filing;
• Court-monitored mediation to facilitate early disposal of cases; provision of product liability;
• Penal provisions for the manufacture/sale of adulterated products/spurious goods; provision for making rules for the prevention of unfair trade practice in e-commerce and direct selling.

Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)

The government has formulated various mechanisms to address the malpractices. For Example, it has formed the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to regulate matters, inter alia, relating to false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the interests of the public and consumers as a class. It has a provision of provision for filing cases online through e-Daakhil in Consumer Commissions at the district, state, and national level for speedy and hassle-free resolution of cases. 

National Consumer Helpline (NCH)

It is a pre-litigation mechanism. It receives grievances of consumers through telephone (short code 1915), web portal, letters, SMS, emails, etc., and the Mobile App. These grievances are taken up with the concerned entities for resolution.

Jago Grahak Jago Campaign

This campaign was launched by the Department of Consumer Affairs through electronic and print media. It aims to spread consumer awareness and joint awareness campaigns on consumer rights and responsibilities.

Conclusion

The government of India has adopted a multi-tiered approach at different levels to resolve the menace of food-borne illness at different tiers of the government. It has also launched various campaigns for consumer awareness and empowerment with respect to food safety. These initiatives not only have a legislative backing but also have a strong quasi-judicial characteristic with the provision of penalties and fines for violations. Overall, these initiatives of the government will help India to achieve multiple Sustainable Development Goals related to food security, hunger and health.