The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is increasing its surveillance on a range of food products, including fortified rice, dairy items, and spices, within the national market. This move follows recent investigations into potential violations of regulatory standards within branded spice products.
Sources reveal that the FSSAI is broadening its surveillance scope to encompass various food categories, such as fruits, vegetables, salmonella in fish products, spices, culinary herbs, fortified rice, and milk and milk products. Notably, the regulatory body is intensifying its scrutiny of spice products, particularly powdered spices from all brands, including prominent ones like MDH and Everest, in response to quality concerns raised by international entities like Singapore and Hong Kong.
The decision comes in the wake of alerts issued by Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety (CFS), which flagged pesticide contamination in select spice products from Indian brands, prompting recalls and heightened scrutiny. Similarly, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) mandated the recall of specific imported spice products, underscoring the importance of stringent quality control measures.
Expanding its oversight, FSSAI is also initiating widespread sampling activities, including the collection of pan-India samples of Nestlé’s Cerelac baby cereals, amid global reports hinting at potential discrepancies in product composition.
Over the years, FSSAI has significantly ramped up its sampling and analysis efforts, reflecting a proactive stance towards enforcing food safety regulations. The number of samples analyzed has surged from over 1,00,000 in 2020–21 to exceeding 4,50,000 in 2023–24, indicating a notable escalation in regulatory actions.
FSSAI operates a network of food testing laboratories across the country, encompassing both governmental and private facilities, to facilitate rigorous quality assessments. Non-compliance with regulatory standards can attract penalties under the FSS Act, 2006, ranging from fines to imprisonment, depending on the severity of the violation and its consequences.
With these measures, FSSAI aims to bolster consumer confidence by ensuring the quality and safety of food items available in the domestic market, thereby reinforcing its commitment to public health and well-being.