In preparation for the upcoming festive season, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued stringent directives to confectioners, emphasizing adherence to FSSAI guidelines, implementation of good manufacturing practices, and the sourcing of raw materials such as milk, khoya, and paneer exclusively from licenced vendors listed by FSSAI. The primary objective is to minimize the prevalent risk of food adulteration often associated with sweets during festive celebrations.
A meeting at FSSAI witnessed the participation of approximately 150 sweet manufacturers and associations, where they were instructed to prioritize safety and the high quality of both edible products and raw materials, especially milk and its derivatives, which are particularly vulnerable to adulteration and contamination due to heightened demand during the festive season. The FSSAI official responsible for this initiative highlighted the importance of maintaining impeccable hygiene standards at every juncture, including manufacturing, storage, distribution, points of sale, and consumer purchases.
Furthermore, confectioners were advised to adhere to safe cooking practices and utilize high-quality edible oil and ghee in their food products.
In addition to these measures, the FSSAI has planned a comprehensive nationwide surveillance campaign targeting milk and its derivatives to ascertain the extent of adulteration within these products. Samples will be collected from both organized and unorganized sectors across the country.
Last year, the food regulator examined a total of 1,72,687 food samples, with 44,421 samples found to be non-compliant with FSSAI standards. This led to the imposition of 38,053 civil cases and 4,817 criminal cases.
In August, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that the FSSAI, in collaboration with state authorities, had formed a task force to crack down on those engaging in food malpractice and adulteration.
In 2022, FSSAI conducted a comprehensive milk survey across 12 selected states, including 10 states where Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) was prevalent, along with two control states with no reported LSD outbreaks among cattle in India. The results of the survey concluded that the milk available in these selected states is predominantly safe for consumption.