CHAPTER –VII

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

7.1 Conclusion
The preamble of the Constitution of the World Health Organisation, projects a
vision of the ideal status of health as the eternal and universal goal. It establishes the
indivisibility and interdependence of rights as they are related to health of the people. It
recognises the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental
right of every human being. Despite the tremendous increase in agricultural production,
reaching adequate standards of food security and food safety at the household level is
still a goal to be achieved1. The Right to safe food is essentially a second generation
human right and is plagued with the same issues of enforceability as all other economic,
social and cultural rights2. Right to safe food is multi dimensional, hungry bellies on one
hand and unsafe food that the market has been swarmed with, on the other. Of course,
we have legislations to tackle both these aspects but ironically the authorities under
these Acts are not coordinating with each other. There has to be a harmonious working
of these two sets of authorities.
Food adulteration is common in India. Even milk, consumed primarily by
children, is not spared. What‘s particularly worrying the Researcher, is the kind of
substances employed to adulterate, including toxic chemicals. This shows that the trade
off between the risk of getting caught and the ‗reward‘ of huge profits is skewed heavily
in favour of the adulterator. The government must focus on raising the risks to the
adulterator. One way of doing this is by hiking the penalty, including making it
analogous to attempt to murder in extreme cases. It‘s equally important to regularly
check foodstuff for adulteration and ensure speedy trials. In India, food industry is of
different sizes such as the organised sector, small scale and unorganised sectors. The
requisites of standards in each sector are different. The small scale sector and domestic
market in itself is quite large.
The food chain in India is infested with various stake holders ranging from a
small farmer to street vendors to retailers to the big industrialists. The protocol for

1
Kanchan Dwivedi, Research Scholar, Singhania University, Rajasthan, ―Human Right to adequate
food”, International Journal of Innovative research and Development [July 2012], Vol 1, Issue no 04,
p196-204
2
Ms. Uma Sud, ‗The Right to Food as an International Human Right‟, Social Action, [January-December
2004] Vol 54 No4, p 296-310

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standardisation of food articles should keep in mind the actual users of these standards,
environment, the culture and the present infrastructure of the country which seems to
have been overlooked by the legislators. Instead of setting high standards and
eliminating the small time FBOs, the state should provide logistic support to them and
see that they will also be competent to maintain the standards. Eliminating them
altogether will not mitigate the problem.
The interest of the society can never be allowed to perish. In Hobbs v
Corporation of Winchester3, the court aptly held that it was no defence for a butcher to
say that he could not have discovered the disease unless he had an analyst on the
premises. Roscoe Pound, the chief protagonist of the sociological jurisprudence has
logically explained the central theme of the statutory crimes in the following words:
“the good sense of court has introduced a doctrine of acting at one‟s peril with respect
to statutory crimes which expresses the need of society. Such statutes are not meant to
punish the vicious will but to pressure on the thoughtless and inefficient to do their
whole duty in the interest of public health or safety or morals4”.
It was held by Lord Wright in McLeod v. Buchanan, 5 that the intention to
commit a breach of the statute need not be shown but the breach in fact is enough. It is
understood that one is expected to get for what he pays. The interest of innocent
purchaser is paramount because he pays the money and in turn honestly desires that he
be given unadulterated food articles. On the same lines, Kerala High Court in State of
Kerala v P.K Chenu6 accorded a positive gesture to the clarion call of the gullible and
innocent purchaser and observed ―when on analysis, it is found that an article of food
does not conform to the standard prescribed, the sale of such article is an offence under
the Act which does not provide for exemption of marginal or border line variations of
the standard from the operation of the Act. To condone such variation on the ground
that they are negligible will amount to altering the standard itself prescribed by the
statute”.

3
(1910) 2KB 471
4
‗The Spirit of Common Law‟ Roscoe Pound with a new introduction by Neil Hamilton & Mathias Alfred
Jaren Transaction Publishers New Brunswick(USA)and London (UK) available at https://books .google.
co .in/ books? d=g7El0rDEkrkC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=the+good+sense+of+court+has+introduced
(accessed on 11/3/2018 at 10.45pm)
5
(1940) 2 ALL E.R. 179, 186 (H.L.)
6
1975 CrLJ 411(Ker) at 413

310
 In Jagdish Prasad v State of West Bengal7, the Supreme Court has reiterated
that once standard having been fixed, any person who deals with articles of food which
does not conform to it contravenes the provisions of the Act and is liable to be punished.
But, the moment liability is attached to an innocent vendor who is ignorant of the
adulteration, for any marginal deviation from the prescribed standards, there is every
chance of clamorous screaming by the vendors.
To fully realize the benefits of the FSSA, FSSAI needs to maintain total
transparency in rule framing. Involvement of industry and other stakeholders and
transparent public consultation, directly or through representative bodies, during the
preparation, evaluation and revision of food law is essential for setting of sound
scientific standards. The Researcher is appalled that though the object of this Act is to
maintain the standards for the food and make it safe for the human consumption, yet the
same has remained a distant mirage. The death and injury to human beings due to
contaminated or adulterated food is not a stray case, questioning the very purpose of the
Act. The struggle of a common man to ensure safe food has become a constant litany in
vain. The business of making food appear appealing and attractive often spoils the
quality of what we eat.
To make nation healthy, every citizen must be able to buy food that is free from
contamination. Food security cannot be guaranteed merely by provision of a certain
quantity of grain to each family but by ensuring that every grain that is distributed is
wholesome and nourishing and not noxious. The ideology of food safety is a composite
one beyond merely making grain available physically. There is no point in having a
legislation which has failed to give reliefs as contemplated by it. The authorities
established under this Act have turned out to be only white elephants and eating up a
major portion of our economic resources without doing much.
Serving safe food is not an option, but an obligation. ―Each and every member
of the food industry, from farm to fork, must create a culture where food safety
and nutrition is paramount‖ 8 . Control of quality of food stuffs by preventing their
adulteration is a gigantic problem all over the world. It is much more so in an
economically developing and under developed states owing to their backwardness in
7
(1973) 2SCJ 397:AIR 1972 SC 2044
8
WilliamBill Marler, An accomplished attorney and national expert in food safety, he has become an
accomplished attorney and national expert in food safety, he has become the most prominent food borne
illness lawyer in America and a major force in the food policy in the Us and around the world. Marler
Clark, The Food safety Law Firm has represented thousands of individuals in claims against food
companies whose contaminated products have caused life altering injury and even death.

311
technology in means of production and preservation and packing of food articles.
Standards play an important role in the daily life of a common man. The standards in
some form or the other add value to the life thus making it easier, safer and more
comfortable for everyone. Standards are developed in response to needs of life9.
India being a developing country has to improve upon its infrastructure and
technology to keep pace with the international standards to protect the consumers and to
compete in trade with developed countries. In advanced countries like USA, USSR,
Japan, France or Germany, it is possible to exercise rigid controls over the quality of
food articles in view of the high order of general awareness in the people and a sense of
realisation of their rights, privileges and responsibilities in the task of cooperation with
the law enforcing agency10. One of the great weaknesses of this protective legislation is
that in our country, the complacent attitude of the people, may be due to illiteracy,
ignorance and dejection has led to a state of mass sluggishness with the result that the
entire burden of controlling the quality of food stuffs rests with the state and
enforcement machinery. Though the erstwhile PFA and the current FSSA have provided
for the punishment of life imprisonment, yet there is no instance of the court awarding
the life imprisonment to any accused for his guilt. Not even those prosecuted for deadly
articles of food taking a heavy toll on lives of human beings nor manufacturers of
poisonous liquor or spurious drugs or any other fatally adulterated edibles or medicines
have so far been sentenced to life imprisonment11. It is difficult to assume that the law
has fully succeeded in attaining its objectives.
Policy makers are absolutely confused as to whether they should eradicate
hunger first or to make sure that only safe food is available in the market. Hunger is
caused by decisions made by human beings and can be ended by making different
decisions. Despite the efforts at the international level as well as at the national level to
curb hunger, recent report by Welthungerhlife and Concern worldwide, India has been
ranked at the 103rd position among 119 countries on the Global Hunger Index12. For the

9
Dr Ashok R Patil, ‗Products Safety Standards & consumer Protection‟, Dissertation series-5 KILPAR
Bangalore
10
C Gopala Krishnamurthy, ‘Enforcement of Prevention of Food Adulteration Act‟ in Ramesh V Bhat &B
S Narasinga Rao‟s(ed) book „ National strategy for Food Quality Control National Industries Institute of
Nutrition‘, Hyderabad, 1985 p97
11
LM Singh ―Strict Liability under Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954:Legislative Consciousness
and Judicial Activism”, Supreme Court Journal, 1987 Volume 3 (September-December)
12
‗India has serious levels of hunger :report‘ Deccan Herald daily news paper Bangalore Edition dated
16/10/2018

312
existence, growth and development of the society, the interest of the members should be
protected.
It is, therefore in the interest of the existence and growth of a society that
consumer protection is extended as a right of the members of such society13. In case, it is
not protected, the result may be chaos in the society which may result in disintegration
and degeneration of the society. In such a scenario, the pre-contractualist situation as the
natural law thinkers advocate, the state shall lose its existence. The nation made to
consume sub-standard and adulterated food-stuffs will naturally tend to grow sub-
standard and weak. If we undertake a reality check, most grocery stores and kitchens in
hotels, restaurants, catering houses & bakeries, especially those in rural areas will fail
abysmally if subjected to hygiene and food safety tests. This is in terms of meals/drinks
served and cleanliness of the place where the food is served, utensils used for cooking,
water that goes into preparation and servers.
As Margaret A. Hamburg14, has opined that ‗A safe global food supply can only
be achieved through development of effective food safety management systems, which
are essential to the well being of consumers, farmers, processors and manufacturers‘.
"The true source of world hunger is not scarcity but policy; not inevitability but
politics", said Dr Peter Rosset, executive director of Food First15. The real culprits are
economies that fail to offer everyone opportunities and societies that place economic
efficiency over compassion. But what hurts the Researcher is that there is no
comprehensive approach to solving this problem. At the outset, the UN should urge all
its member nations to devise ways and means to alleviate poverty which is a scourge in
most of the developing countries and more so, in under developed countries.
Millions of people in the country continue to go hungry and malnourished. They
are deprived of their right to food with disastrous and devastating consequences
including the death. The conditions of poor people, landless peasants and the
unemployed urban dwellers who are all the marginalised section of society is steadily
deteriorating. At the same time, the efforts should be made at the international level to
ensure that only safe food is available to the people. The UN should constitute a body

13
Dr Subhash C Sharma, ―Consumer protection and the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act‖, Central
India Law Quarterly, Annual Index [1995]Vol VIII, p 187-194
14
Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., became the 21st Commissioner of Food and Drugs on May 18, 2009, only
the second woman to serve in the position. Among her initiatives during her tenure at FDA, Dr. Hamburg
oversaw the modernization of a food safety system to reduce food borne illness.
15
The Institute for Food and Development Policy, better known as Food First, working since 1975 to end
the injustices that cause hunger through research, education and action.

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which should mandate all the states to report the statistics about the people suffered due
to unsafe food, adulterated food stuffs and any untoward incidents relating to food
safety, measures undertaken to curb this menace and how effective they are. As there is
a Special Rapporteur for Right to food who visits different countries to oversee the
working of food programmes, similar arrangements should be instituted to ensure that
people are supplied with safe food and the available food conforms with the standards
stipulated by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

7.2 Testing of Hypothesis

Hypothesis 1
1. This Research lies on the premise that though, Right to qualitative and quantitative
food in India is the upshot of innumerable international instruments and constant
judicial interpretation of the constitution, yet, the human right to food can be
effectively ensured only when a parliamentarian explicitly recognizes it under Part
III of the Indian Constitution.

The answer to the above hypothesis is in the affirmative. The right to food is the
outcome of constant efforts of United Nations beginning from the times of Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,1948. Followed by which several attempts were made in
the form of declarations, conventions, summits and conferences to give it the status of
basic human right. As this is not enough even judiciary in series of cases starting from
Kishen Patnaik v. State of Orissa16, till today many cases have been decided to give it a
status of the right. Though initially, the Constitution of India did not deal with the basic
right of right to food, the apex court has reiterated in many judgements that Article 21
Right to life and personal liberty includes not only bare minimum necessity but entails
the life with dignity. Directive principles of state policy have ordained the state to
provide its people with safe food. For a person to lead the life with dignity, food is
essential. Today the Constitution of India is abound with judgements from the Apex court
giving a legal sanction to Right to food. But unless an amendment is carried out to our
constitution, incorporating clause (B) to Art 21, right to qualitative and quantitative food
will still be a partially accomplished dream. Hence, Right to qualitative and quantitative

16
1989 Supp (1) SCC 258

314
food can be effectively ensured only when a parliamentarian explicitly recognizes it
under Part III of the Indian Constitution as a fundamental right.
Therefore the Hypothesis is proved Right.

Hypothesis 2
2.The Research is based on the assertion that though FSSA has been carefully crafted
in such a way that it could subsume Prevention of Food adulteration Act, 1954 and
eight other different legislations, due to the blatant lacunae that they all suffered
from, yet, the provisions of FSSA are inadequate to provide panacea in India, for the
bane of food adulteration which is a curse for the humankind.

The answer to the above hypothesis is partially affirmative. The erstwhile PFA
Act,1954 never attempted to nip the bane of food adulteration in the bud but it was the
duty of the food inspectors to take stock of the situation only if came to their notice. PFA
Act tried to curb only the adulteration and other dimensions of making the food safe for
human consumption did not find a mention in the Act. FSSA was passed after carefully
incorporating the basic features of Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and other eight
legislations. The objective of this Act was to fix the scientific standards for food, make
the food safe for human consumption apart from ensuring the availability of only safe
food in the market. The Act is self-explanatory. There is a paradigm shift under FSSA,
where the Act casts a duty on all the stakeholders in the field i.e. all food business
operators which includes manufacturers, traders, dealers, wholesalers and retailers to
abstain/refrain from dealing and selling unsafe/adulterated food. Not only selling, even if
they have unsafe food in their place of business meant for sale for human consumption,
they can be prosecuted under the Act. With the introduction of the supply chain concept
under the FSSA, the focus will not be on mere inspection but on each person in the chain-
sourcing, manufacturing, storing, distributing- assessed by Food Safety Officers. The
introduction of preventive measures at all stages of the food production and distribution
chain, rather than only inspection and rejection at the final stage, makes better economic
sense.
The Act has gone one step further to doubly ensure that unsafe food is not
consumed by the general public by introducing Food Recall Procedure, where, if the food
in the market is found to be unsafe /obnoxious to the health of the consumer, the same
will have to be withdrawn from the market. FSSA regulates food hygiene and safety laws

315
in the country in order to systematically and scientifically develop the food industry. The
Act aims to make the food safe for consumption from farm to fork, casting the
responsibility on all the players in the field. The motto of the Act is ‗prevention is better
than cure‘. Despite, all these marathon efforts, we still witness cases of people suffering
from consumption of unsafe foods. We can still see the presence of unsafe food in the
market. In the light of the above adduced facts, the Researcher strongly thinks that
provisions of the Act are inadequate and hence, this Hypothesis is only partially fulfilled
and there is still a lot much to be desired for.
In the light of the above facts, the Hypothesis is proved Partially Right.

Hypothesis 3
3. In the light of the hostile heterogeneous nature of the food business in India and the
perennial challenges encountered in the implementation of the Food Safety and
Standards Act, stray cases of people suffering from food adulteration questions the
commitment of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in ensuring safe food to
the people.
The answer to the above hypothesis is partially affirmative. FSSA has laid emphasis
on consolidating the laws related to food. The Act has cast on FSSAI, the responsibility
of stipulating science based standards for food articles as per international norms-Codex
Standards, and to closely monitor their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and
import. The administrative control of the FSSA has been assigned to the FSSAI thereby
establishing a single reference point for all matters and eradicating any possibility of
multiplicity of orders or any coordination problems that would have been caused with
other authorities. But, FSSAI has been extending the deadline given for registration and
licensing of the food business taking the heterogeneity of the food business into
consideration. We have food being cooked at home and sold to consumers elsewhere,
food caterers, hotels, small eateries, bakeries, street vendors, dabbawallahs in Mumbai in
particular, temples serving food to the pilgrims, star hotels and food being distributed
under akshaya patra yojana, mid day meals schemes in the schools and anganwadi
centres.
When we have variety of food business operators, uniform standards becomes
impossible and unreasonable to apply and maintain. Due to this feature, FSSAI has not
been able to curb the large scale adulteration of food and articles of food. FSSAI does not
even have the statistics as to how many small time hawkers, who only need to register

316
and how many food business operators whose income is more than 5lakh & need to
obtain license are operating in the market. FSSAI has been a failure with respect to
compelling the FBO‘s to adhere to its orders and notifications, for instance FSSAI has
utterly failed in compelling all the FBOs to display the helpline number in their premises.
This is the least that FSSAI could have done, and if this is not done, the Researcher
thinks that the future of food safety is bleak and FSSAI turns out to be another white
elephant and rehabilitation centre for the bureaucrats.
Hence, the Hypothesis is proved Partially Right.

7.3 Findings of the study

1. The major challenge for the implementation of the FSSA is the population of our
country which is 127,42,39,769, and is 17.25 per cent of the global population 17 and
accounts for a third of the world‘s poor as remarked by the World Bank18 earlier this
year. Though, the proportion of people living below poverty line (BPL)19 in India has
come down from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12- a decline of 15.3
percent as reported by the planning Commission, yet poverty and illiteracy have become
major primary challenges in India for maintaining food safety and standards, in general.
It is often said that the poor will consume ‗anything‘ to mitigate their hunger. This may
or may not be true. On one hand, survival depends mainly on access to a minimum
quantity of food, on the other hand, consumption of food which does not meet minimum
safety standards can also jeopardize the very survival. When one third of the people are
living below poverty line, access to food in itself is a major challenge and the concept of
‗food safety‘ is a far cry. The cascading effect of poverty is illiteracy because of which
not many people are aware of FSSA. Though FSSA was enacted in 2006, a decade ago,
till today consumer awareness about this legislation is very poor among the literates and
nil among the illiterates. In India, people came to know about the existence of this Act
only after the Maggi noodles incident which took place in June 2015. Successive
governments have failed take the necessary steps to ensure that food quality and safety
considerations form an integral part of the food security system.
2. Cascading effect of population explosion is poverty and illiteracy. Illiteracy is a
stumbling block for the development of a country. It is a shame that even after India‘s
70years of independence, we still find 22.5% of the population living below poverty
17
Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh or National Population Stabilisation Fund (NPSF) 2017
18
planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/rep_hasim1701.pdf (accessed on 21/12/2017 at 8.00am)
19
An income of less than $1.25 per day per head of purchasing power

317
line. Researcher submits that, unfortunately, most of the government projects/schemes
are short sighted with no permanent solution to the dogging problem in the near future.
3. Developing countries, may not be able to afford expensive food imports, it is
important for them to place renewed emphasis on self sufficiency to ensure food security
which consequently results in the availability of safe and standard food. prioritising
agriculture is the panacea for this. We should pursue and participate in sustainable food,
agriculture, forestry and rural development policies in high and low potential areas so
that there is balance in productivity and development of all regions.
In India, there is a wide opinion that the agriculture crisis is a product of
shifting goalpost of economic reforms initiated in 1991 away from structural problems
and the investment needs of agriculture. Procurement price by the state from farmers is a
disincentive to the farmers, who increasingly perceive farming to be an unremunerative
vocation. This is an unhealthy indication for the country‘s economy and needs a serious
rethink. Neglect of farmers and farming sector and the current food inflation has been
further exacerbated by a misplaced zeal in detaching liberalisation of food trade from
investment needs to expand food security to incorporate the same in right to food.
4. The FSSA has exempted plants prior to harvesting, live animals and any animal feed
from the purview of the definition of food. ―Several large scale outbreaks of diseases in
the human population and among farm animals in India have been traced to food
contamination. Scientific studies have established how contamination is passed through
animal feeds to the human food chain. There has been a worldwide increase in public
awareness of the potential health hazards posed by environmental pollution and sub-
standard animal feed entering the human food chain‖20.
5. The adoption of the international level standards 21 without preparing the domestic
food industry will pose challenges for effective implementation of the Act.
Harmonisation of domestic scenario with international regulations, keeping national
interests in mind is the need of the hour. The small and medium scale industries may not
keep track of the regulatory changes which make it difficult for them to identify the
procedural and compliance changes introduced by the Act. First the government must
upgrade the local set up before trying to achieve the higher targets as set out by the
provisions of the FSSA. The local system should be upgraded in a phased manner before

20
Priya Deshingkar, ―Political Economy of Animal Feed and Food Contamination Debate in India”,
Political and Economical Weekly, [April 6, 2002] Vol XXXVII No 14, p1437-1446
21
Codex Standards

318
trying to take a leap. The gap between the existing system and the standards set by the
FSSA will have to be cemented first. The government must realize that there is no point
in setting higher targets and not able to reach them.
6. Street Food hawkers in India are a major challenge in the implementation of FSSA,
who are generally unaware of food regulations and have no formal training in food
handling. They also lack support services such as good-quality water supply, sanitary
facility and waste disposal systems, which hinder their ability to provide safe food. A
survey made by the Health Ministry in 16 cities has found that 90 % of the street food is
unsafe for consumption. An FSSAI study conducted in Kolkota found that the street
food is cheap and gives nutritional value in terms of calories but hygienic standards are
very unsatisfactory. The quality of water used, the manner of cooking, display and
handling of food and waste disposal are all problem areas. The FSSAI is planning to
make an intensive study of street food in Lucknow and Varanasi after the pilot study in
Kolkota22.
7. Although standards are specified for water to be used as an input in the
processing/preparation of food, the FSSA does not specify standards for potable water,
which is usually provided by local authorities. Thus, the food providers have to shoulder
the responsibility of ensuring that clean water is used, even when tap water may not
meet the required safety standards. This is a tall order for small food enterprises and
street food vendors. Costs also rise if each vendor invests in water purification systems.
If such facilities were provided to food vendors by the state authorities as it happens in
Malaysia and Singapore, India might be more successful in ensuring that this sector also
maintains acceptable standards of hygiene and cleanliness.
In a survey conducted by the Maharashtra government health department in 2006
it was shown that up to 20-25% of household food expenditure is incurred outside the
home and some sections of the population depend entirely on street foods. This is one of
the consequences of rapid urbanization, with millions of people having no access to
kitchen or other cooking facilities. There are millions of single workers without families
and a large floating population who move in and out of the city for various purposes.
These people largely depend on street foods for their daily sustenance from places of
work, hospitals, railway stations and bus terminals. The food at these shanties are
generally prepared and sold under unhygienic conditions, with limited access to safe

22
―Ensure Food Safety‖ Deccan Herald Daily News Paper dated 18/9/13 Bangalore Edition

319
water, sanitary services and garbage disposal facilities. Hence street foods pose a high
risk of food poisoning due to microbial contamination, as well as improper use of food
additives, adulteration and environmental contamination.
8. Shortage of testing laboratories and equipment has hampered the implementation of
the Act and Government of India may also find it difficult to identify, recruit and then
continually train people for the accredited laboratories. All food testing will have to be
carried out in accredited food laboratory. ‗Presently all the public sector food
laboratories are not accredited. FSSAI commissioned a gap analysis study for
upgradation of 50 food laboratories under the central and state government. The study
indicated that there is an urgent need to upgrade the infrastructure, strengthen staffing
and training inputs and put in place more reliable laboratory management and
operational procedure‘23 Where Rules are being observed, it appears to be driven by
international trade norms/requirements/parameters than concern for the health of the
local people.
9. Our Indian society can be divided into two tiers. One, where a handful of exporters of
articles of food are leaving no stone unturned for abiding by the international
stipulations/guidelines to maintain and further expand their market niche. The other tier
comprises of millions of small scale milk, poultry and meat traders/producers, who are
oblivious of the concept of food safety, are passing on contaminated products to millions
of gullible consumers. In the second tier, the producers, traders and consumers are not
even aware that there is a problem which could impact their health and rural livestock.
10. Hazarad Analysis and Critical Control Point need to be accompanied by an increase
in improved access to scientific research findings which would create the much needed
general awareness that is currently lacking in India. The shocking paradox is that people
are more affected & disturbed by the reports of synthetic milk than by the reports about
the presence of Aflatoxins24 and DDT in natural milk, although the latter may carry a
bigger health risk. This indicates lack of scientific knowledge & understanding among
the general public.

23 Sheeba Pillai, ― Right to Safe Food: Laws and Remedies‖, The Banaras Law journal, [2012] , Vol 41, p
119-135
24
Any of a class of toxic compounds produced by certain moulds found in food, which can cause liver
damage and cancer.

320
11. The FSSA also mentions certain terms like ‗Good manufacturing practices‘, 'Food
Safety Management System' 25 good hygienic practices‘ and ‗Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Point‘ without according any details to them because of which
confusions galore. It is not clear from the Act what these terms imply and whether the
CODEX definition of such terms is to be followed. The expression ‗sub-standard26‘ is
not well articulated and states that even if the food article does not meet the standards
set by this Act, the food is still not considered unsafe. If this is the interpretation, then
there is no point in subjecting the food to test to see if they will meet the requirement
under the law.
12. The FSSA authorises FSSAI to implement the Act with the help of Scientific
Commissioners of Food. But there is an ambiguity as to who will control it-whether it is
the Ministry of Food Processing Industries or the Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare.
13. No specific standards in relation to use of potable water has been provided under the
Act.
14. An important Codex Alimentarius Commission guidelines for food processing
companies is to follow a food quality management system called Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Points (HACCP). Most of the countries have adopted this Codex
Alimentarius Commission‘s guidelines, but unfortunately in India FSSAI has not been
successful in ensuring that all food processing units follow this guide line.
15. The Tiffin suppliers who are popularly known as Dabbawalas in Mumbai27, how
will the same food safety laws be applied to them. The Act will restrict the manufacture

25 FSSA Section 3 (s) ‗Food safety management system‘ means the adoption of 'Good Manufacturing
Practices', 'Good Hygienic Practices' and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point' and such other
practices as may be specified by regulation, for the food business
26
Ibid Section 3(1)(zx) ‗Sub-standard‘, an article of food shall be deemed to be sub-standard if it does not
meet the specified standards but not so as to render the article of food unsafe.
27
A dabbawala is a person in Mumbai, India, whose job is carrying and delivering freshly-made food
from home in lunch boxes to office workers. They are formally known as MTBSA (Mumbai Tiffin Box
Suppliers Association), but most people refer to them as the dabbawalas. The dabbawalas originated when
India was under British rule. Since many British people who came to India did not like the local food, a
service was set up to bring lunch to their offices straight from their home. The 100-odd dabbas (or lunch
boxes) of those days were carried around in horse-drawn trams and delivered in the Fort area, which
housed important offices. Today, businessmen in modern Mumbai use this service and have become the
main customers of the dabbawalas. In fact, the 5,000-strong workforce (there are a handful of women) is
so well-known that Prince Charles paid them a visit during his recent trip to India. Several academic
institutions regularly invite the dabbawalas‘ representatives for discussion, and to complement and
enhance their academic content. At times, businesses find it useful to illustrate the application of how such
a system uses Six Sigma principles to improve its operations. White Paper Prepared By Mba Students At
The University Of North Carolina‘s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Nishesh Patel and Naveen Vedula
http://mumbaidabbawala.in/( accessed on 12/4/2016)

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and supply of economically priced food that serve millions of poor consumers and
office-goers every day. The Act does not differentiate between the food products being
manufactured by the agribusiness companies and the food products being sold by street
hawkers and dhabas 28 that dot the national highways. ―Both organised sector and
unorganised sector are required to follow the same law with regard to specifications on
ingredients, traceability and food recall procedures which is very difficult for
unorganised sector entities like street vendors and small hawkers‖29. While the general
prescriptions and regulations spelled out by the FSSA, meet the requirements of the
agribusiness companies, the same cannot be blindly applied to the small-time hawkers
that provide cheaper food to the working class in the urban centres. These food vendors
are the lifeline of economically disadvantaged people in urban areas who have no access
to kitchen.
16. It is a terrifying challenge to tackle the huge variety of food safety- related issues in
the context of the country‘s sheer size, diversity and complexity of food markets. For
example, the central government has created some islands of excellence in the dairy
sector by launching nationwide annual food safety and hygiene audits of dairy plants.
The National Productivity Council is a partner in those efforts. But unless they are
transformed into a mass movement inculcating food safety concerns and consciousness
among all sectors and the general public, a significant nationwide impact will not be felt.
17. The Indian food industry is dominated by microenterprises and Home-based units
who prepare food products like condiments, traditional and ethnic food. It is thus
imperative for policy prescriptions to address these sectors too, before an impact on the
overall food safety scenario is felt.
18. The business culture and consumer participation are two key factors determining the
success or failure of food safety campaigns. The business culture is simply the attitude
of entrepreneurs towards all stakeholders in the food supply chain. Ideally, that culture
should be characterized by the ability to welcome and adjust to change, efforts for
excellence and putting consumer‘s best interest at the top of the business agenda. An
ideal policy environment should inspire the food industry, especially the Small and
Medium Enterprises Sector, to adopt the best possible food safety assurance practices

28
Dhaba is the name given to roadside restaurants in India and Pakistan. They are situated on highways
and generally serve local cuisine. www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/dhaba
29
Ravulapti Madhavi, ―Is Food Safety Lurking in The Food Safety and Standards Act 2006?‖, Supreme
Court Journal, [8th May to 12th June, 2008]Vol 4, p 17-20

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not only to gain a competitive edge but also to fulfil its social responsibility. This means
that a thorough understanding of country-specific business cultures is essential before
launching large-scale food safety campaigns. In large & diverse countries like ours, an
understanding of region/province-specific business cultures is required.
19. While the professional manner in which the constitution of various committees is
spelled out is commendable, what is intriguing the Researcher is the lack of adequate
peoples‘ representation in FSSAI. Only one member each from a consumer organization
and agribusiness companies are in the Authority, which is a gross inadequate
representation. Overstuffed by bureaucrats and also headed by a senior bureaucrat, there
is no space in the authority for the informal food sector.
20. Some economists have apprehended that the objectives of the Act appears to be
directed at eliminating the competition that informal food sector including the dhabas
and tiffin carriers pose to the agribusiness companies. As long as food is being sold at
such cheap prices by the dhabas and the tiffin carriers, the agribusiness companies will
find it difficult to gain a strong foothold in the Indian market. The food offered by the
dhabas and the hawkers has generally been found to be more hygienic and fresh than
what is offered in the top posh hotels, where many of the dishes are usually cooked from
frozen foods loaded with preservatives. These posh hotels offer cuisines of all
vegetables and fruits at all times throughout the year irrespective of the prevailing
season, which automatically implies that cuisines of unseasonal fruits and vegetables are
made out of frozen fruits and vegetables. Dhabas and street food vendors always buy
what is seasonally available in the market and make the cuisine out of it. They do not
have and cannot afford facilities to store unseasonal fruits and vegetables and they
cannot buy the frozen vegetables as they are very expensive which will add to the cost
of the food. When one eats at these dhabas or street food hawkers, he is sure that he is
consuming food prepared out of fresh fruits and vegetables and is not loading oneself
with unnecessary preservatives and additives.
21. Unlike in the European countries, in India, hotels, restaurants and supermarkets
are not the only sources of food but home cooked food is the major source of people‘s
daily need and therefore regulations on industrialized and pre processed food alone
won‘t help much on food safety front in India.
22. Another serious lapse is the labelling of food products specifying whether they are
genetically modified not, though there is a Regulation to state whether a particular food
item is genetically Modified or not, as of now not all FBO‘s are strictly following it.

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This lenience is also in tune with the commercial interests of the multinational
companies. They have been in the forefront of a global campaign that does not allow a
choice between a normal product and a genetically modified food to the consumers -
Which in reality establishes the stoic attitude of the government towards genetically
modified crops being developed and consumed by the people. But it has been proved
that these genetically modified crops can impact food safety and health of the consumers
negatively in the long run. On 26/7/2018, a study by an advocacy group claimed that
genetically modified processed foods, including infant foods were being illegally sold in
the market across the country30. According to this report, the Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) tested 65 imported and domestically produced processed food
samples, which included a mix of oils, packaged foods, infant foods and protein
supplements, for presence of genetically modified foods. ―Overall 32% of the food
product samples tested were GM positive, while most of the genetically modified foods
that were tested did not disclose GM on their labels, few also made false claims of being
GM free, 46% of imported food products tested positive which were made of used soya,
corn and rapeseed and were imported from Canada, the Netherlands, Thailand, the UAE
and the US and also 17% of the samples manufactured in India also tested positive‖,
CSE Deputy Director General Chandra Bhushan said. Despite the Act, the provisions
regarding labelling is not strictly adhered to by the people and the same is not being
enforced by the authorities. The provision regarding imported foods are also not
enforced by the Act. We have a beautiful idealistic legislation but sans the committed
authorities.
23. The time limit for prosecution also has been fixed as the trial to start within a year
from the date of commission of an offence. As of now more than one lakh cases relating
to food standard offences are pending in various courts across the country31.
24. Deadlines have been extended many times for licensing and registration of food
business operators, frustrating the very purpose of the Act. But, Section 63 of FSSA
clearly envisages punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months
and also fine which may go upto Rs 5 lakhs, in case any FBO carries on food business
without obtaining license. Despite this provision not many EBOs have obtained license
but carrying on their business in full glare.
30
‘GM foods illegally sold across India, says CSE‘, Deccan Herald, Bangalore Edition Dated 27/7/2018
31
Aarti Dhar, ―Food Safety Act Takes Effect from Today‖, The Hindu, 5th August 2011, New Delhi edn
availablehttps://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/food-safety-act-takes-effect-from-today/article2323850
.ece (accessed on 29/7/2018 at 7.31pm)

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25. Section 66 of FFSA which deals with offences by companies, exonerates the person
from liability if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that
he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence. This provision
reflects the double standards adopted by the legislators. The Researcher is puzzled that,
if they can make an individual responsible for any offence under the Act, why the same
cannot be done with the company‘s representative. The Researcher is convinced that,
this provision will allow the company to go scot free and the very idea of casting the
Absolute liability on the offender is defeated.
26. All of us have been reading in the print media and listening to & watching on the
electronic media about the artificial ripening of fruits by using the Carbide gas. Though
there is a specific provision i.e. Regulation 2.3.5 prohibiting the use of Carbide gas in
ripening of fruits in The Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on
Sales) Regulations, 2011, still the fruits are ripened using the same method. Why cannot
the authorities take a suo moto action and save the public health. When the reports of
rampant use of Carbide gas in ripening the fruits is aired on mass medias day in and day
out, how can the authorities turn a blind eye and sit tight on this menace. Another
Regulation 2.3.6 bans the sale of fruits and vegetables which are coated with waxes,
mineral oil and colours. It is public knowledge that imported fruits especially the apples
are coated with wax so that it has long shelf life and does not lose moisture and looks
fresh. What are the authorities doing when a common man knows about the ill effects of
consuming fruits and vegetables which are coated with wax.
27. The other challenge is the kind of materials used for storage of food. Often food
articles are packed in plastic or polythene wrappers which may not be of food grade.
The beverages and water packing bottles have no controls which can result in seepage of
toxins into liquids and the food packed. Regulation 2.3.14(2), The Food Safety and
Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, expressly prohibits
the use of plastic articles in commercial establishments, for the purpose of sale or
serving of food. Plastic articles of any form may be the plastic articles used in catering
and cutlery, unless the plastic material conforms to the food grade. Even today, food
establishments ranging from street hawkers to the posh hotels have the fancy of serving
the food in plastic plates and packing the food parcels in plastic sheet or plastic
containers. For instance, Indira Canteens in Karnataka, is a state owned venture, feeds
the people with subsidised food. At these canteens, hot food is served in plastic plates
though FSSAI‘s Regulations clearly demonstrate that plastic should not be used either in

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packing or serving the food, as the hot food, when it comes in contact with plastic,
plastic will react & release toxins and the food will turn carcinogenic and will not be fit
for human consumption. The ‗charity should begin at home first‘. First, the state owned
ventures/enterprises should give impetus to the guidelines stipulated by FSSAI.

7.3 Suggestions
In the light of the findings and hypotheses being partially proved, the
Researcher strongly advocates that there is a scope and need for improvement of the
working of the authorities under FSSA. The goal should be establish a forum for
advocacy of right to safe food in the public context. The approach for this should be
‗right-cum-duties‘. The people need to be sensitised about the fact that right to safe food
is their fundamental right and they ought to take complete advantage of the
governmental support available to them. The Researcher thinks that as the ‗access to
adequate food is fundamental for the right to adequate food, it is equally important that
accessed food must be adequate in terms of safety and quality‘.
Agriculture is the most important economic activity. At the outset, agriculture
should be given impetus and the government ought to fix scientific prices for the
agricultural produce. This move will lure the farmers back to their original occupation
which they have abandoned now, due to the apathy of the government policies. When
even a match box comes with a price which is predetermined before it hits the market,
how can we allow the fruits of the sweat and blood of our farmers to be lying in the
market and for which the price will be fixed by the middle men. In case a particular
agricultural crop is produced in large quantity and as a result the prices are slashed, the
government instead of compelling the farmers to throw it onto the streets and suffer loss,
should fix a reasonable support price, thus allowing the farmers to survive the losses.
The government should concentrate more on adding the capital assets to the country‘s
infrastructure in terms of roads, canals, railways, irrigation projects, dams and other
facilities which can boost the agrarian sector, thus increasing the agricultural production.
We should not turn a blind eye to the lawful demands of this sector, which ultimately
ensures food security and food safety in turn can be achieved, which is basic need of the
society.
Only in the healthy and conducive scenario of free flow of food, we can dream
of food safety and not in scarcity. ‗Kautilya was of the view that cultivable land is better
than mines because mines fill only the treasury while agricultural production fills both

326
treasury and store houses and states that the King should understand the intricacies of
agriculture‘32. In India, we have witnessed many times the vegetables and perishables
being strewn onto the streets and roads by farmers because the offer price will be below
the transportation cost. The Researcher wonders why collection and processing
mechanism for vegetables and perishable goods cannot be setup and developed at rural
levels. Only if there is enough supply of agricultural produce in the market, we can
contemplate safe food and not when we have hungry bellies to feed as it is a common
scenario that poor will consume anything. As an indirect approach to this, poverty
alleviation programmes should be initiated profusely to improve the living conditions.
The following are the few Suggestions, which if adopted can add to the
effectiveness and efficiency of the working of the FSSA. The basic requirements for the
effective implementation of the Act is
 In limine, people should be made aware of the importance of the regular intake of
micro nutrients, calories, vitamins and minerals and they should be encouraged to
consume safe balanced diet. People should also be sensitised about the value of food and
not to waste the same.
 Right to food must be made a fundamental right in the respective Constitutions of
the states and the same may be included even in Indian Constitution. The Researcher
believes that food is the primary need compared to education, hence Indian Constitution
must be amended and the Right to food ought to be brought under Article 21-A and the
Right to education should be rearranged under Article 21-B.
 Tolerance to violations of the right to food should be ended.
 State must create more employment opportunities so that everybody can have
economic access to food.
 Infrastructure in the form of roads, railways, irrigation facilities/project, hydel
power projects are the need of the hour. All these infrastructure ensures better
agriculture production and the transportation of the same from the place of production to
other places. Undisrupted power supply needs to be ensured and sanitation needs to be
taken care of.
 Policies aimed at eradicating poverty and inequality and improving physical and
economic access by all to sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe food and its
32
Summary on Kautilya‘s Arthashastra: Its Contemporary Relevance Published by Indian Merchants‘
Chamber (2004) https://www.esamskriti.com/essays/docfile/11_359.pdf (accessed on 30/1/2018 at
2.06pm)

327
effective utilisation must be undertaken by the state. Poverty alleviation programmes
should be embarked upon on a war footing.
 Education plays great role in educating the people about the overall well being of
the society, hence, states should make sure that everybody is educated. Awakened
citizens are one of the national powers and they form national assets.
 Our country is lacking in terms of infrastructure to tackle the devastating effects of
any natural calamities thus hampering the food security of the affected. We should strive
to prevent and be prepared to face natural calamities, natural disasters and manmade
emergencies and also to meet transitory and emergency food requirements in ways that
encourage recovery and rehabilitation.
 An international supervisory mechanism should be set up in FAO or the United
Nations Organisation, making it responsible for monitoring the implementation of the
Conventions and Declarations. The states and the concerned authorities should be made
to report to it, in case they encounter any difficulty in the implementation of the right to
food.
 The major stumbling block is the changing scenario of food standards and their
rigid requirements do not reach the rural India. Only few farmers are aware of the
procedure. Though agricultural extension services are provided all across the rural India,
neither they provide any information regarding the existing/prevailing national and
international standards nor do they help the farmers in imparting techniques about the
changing cultivation practices to meet the standards. We should strive to ensure the food
and agricultural trade and overall trade policies are conducive to fostering food security
for all through a fair and market oriented world trade system.
 At the outset, the Act should have integrated agriculture and food industries.
Indiscreet, rampant and unscientific use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides & pesticides
in agriculture and injecting the dairy animals with hormones to increase their yield
would naturally find their way into the end product which is meant for human
consumption. The Act excludes plants prior to harvesting, standing crops and animal
feed from its purview. Any harmful input33 that could affect the safety standards of end
food products is not effectively covered by the Act. An effort to achieve food safety
must be a comprehensive venture. Food safety can be achieved only by taking measures
in reforming agricultural practice & rearing of live stock for human consumption.

33
Pesticides in vegetables or antibiotics in animal feed

328
Integrated farm to table concept should be adhered to. There is a need for greater
involvement of rural sector in food safety issues as most of the food articles for food
processing industry are sourced from rural areas.
 The human right to food cannot be guaranteed without a significant degree of
socialization of food production and distribution both at the global level and the
national level.
 The state should provide the people with local seeds and land for landless families
who are willing to cultivate in rural areas, as the local breed will be immune to vagaries
that they may encounter in that local area.
 It is difficult for food processing industries to take the onus for ensuring that such
standards are within the acceptable levels in processed food when raw material itself
fails to meet these standards. The Act should have also banned the use of some of the
insecticides and pesticides so that the same does not find its way into the raw material
for food processing industries. Recently, the government banned the use of Endo sulfan,
a pesticide34, after lot of agitation by the public. The constant exposure of people to
Endosulfan has resulted in people getting crippled and facing health hazards like severe
neurological and congenital deformities.
 It is also important that the FSSA takes into consideration not only food safety but
also sets up criteria for monitoring the nutritive and human health aspects of the food
products being sold at the market. Food safety has often been generally misconstrued as
nutritionally fit. If the junk food sold through the fast food joints is good for human
consumption i.e., even if it conforms to safety standards as per law, there is no reason
why obesity has emerged as the biggest killer worldwide. In the United States, where
junk food is an obsession, resulting obesity has now emerged as the biggest threat to
nation‘s health.
 At all stages of the food production and distribution chain, preventive measures
should be introduced in-limine rather than inspection and rejection at the final stage,
which results in wastage of food and resources, makes better economic sense. Food
hazards 35 and quality loss may occur at variety of points in the food chain. A well
structured, preventive approach which monitors production and process ought to be the

34
Endosulfan is a harmful insecticide and can cause several health hazards in human beings.
http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/Effect_of_endosulfan.pdf
35
FSSA Section 3(u) ‗Food hazard‘ means a biological, chemical or physical agent in or condition of food
with the potential to cause an adverse health effect

329
preferred method for improving food safety and quality. Potential food hazards could be
curtailed along the food chain through the application of good practices, like,
Using clean and hygiene water in the preparation of food
First, the authorities must supply clean water
Discourage the manual handling of preparation of food and automating the
same
Raw material which goes into food preparation must be clean and safe
The use of anything made of plastic must be discouraged in any stage of food
production and distribution
The place where the food is cooked should be kept clean and open for public
viewing
Facilities for washing utensils used for cooking/processing must be mechanised
Persons who are engaged in food preparation must not be suffering from any
contagious diseases
Wearing of safety gear and clean apron must be made compulsory for those
involved in preparation of food
The premises where the food is cooked/manufactured/processed, at the entrance
itself, hot air blower and air sucker of moderate intensity should be fixed & the
same should be linked to an automated sensor, so that when any person enters the
premises, he would not be taking the dust and foreign particles inside the
premises, which may affect the quality of food/articles of food
Where ever fresh vegetables and fruits are used in the preparation, at the outset,
adequate & proper facilities for storing them and facilities for thorough washing
should be installed
Use of frozen food articles in the preparation should be discouraged, as, as it is,
it is loaded with preservatives and the food business operator in order to give long
shelf life adds some more additives which ultimately results in the presence of
both food additives and preservatives. Though they may be within the permissible
limit, yet it is natural that it may be injurious to human life in the long run.
The state should provide training to interested FBOs, especially those who are
in the business of producing the food in large mass about the nuances of food
handling, producing, marketing and storing to prevent food borne diseases
Effective mechanism for waste disposal is the grave need of the hour

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 Better sanitary facilities should be provided
Only non toxic grease and lubricants should be used in the machineries
The authorities must carry out the periodic check of the machineries and give a
certificate to that effect. Old and worn out machineries should not be allowed to be
used as traces of metals, which they are made up of, can find entry into the end
product.
More than all this, food business operators should be sensitised about their role
in the building of society and about their responsibility towards the society which
plays a pivotal role in making the food safe. If this is done, then there is no scope
for any other measure, the rest will follow suit.
 To set up fully equipped laboratories and providing trained manpower to operate
them. All testing has to be conducted only in accredited laboratories as at present not
all the public sector food laboratories are accredited. FSSAI commissioned a gap
analysis study for up gradation of 50 food laboratories under the Central and State
government. The study indicated that there is an urgent need to upgrade the
infrastructure, strengthen staffing and training inputs and put in place more reliable
laboratory management and operational procedure. The sub-group addressed that a
network of efficient laboratories is the backbone of any credible food safety
initiative. We need many more state of the art testing laboratories mainly to
analyse/examine the imported food articles. Failing which we will not be able to use
the SPS 36 and TBT 37 clauses to protect ourselves against the harmful effects of
contamination/adulteration in imported articles of food.
 An effective strategy for laying emphasis on introduction of food safety
preventive measures at different levels of food sector must be devised. The task of
reaching the masses throughout the country could be achieved by identifying the
centre from where such message could be spread. The ideal place for such activity
could be the market place, where producers and buyers interact through sellers of

36
The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phyto sanitary Measures came into force on 1st
January 1995with the establishment of the World Trade Organization. An agreement on how governments
can apply food safety and animal & plant health measures (sanitary and phytosanitary or SPS measures)
sets out the basic rules in the WTO. They aim to ensure that a country‘s consumers are being supplied
with food that is safe to eat — by acceptable standards — while also ensuring that strict health and safety
regulations are not being used as an excuse to shield domestic producers from competition. Available at
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/sps_e/sps_issues_e.htm (accessed on 7/8/2018 at 2.50pm)
37
The WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (the ―TBT Agreement‖) came into force on 1st
January 1995with the establishment of the World Trade Organization. It aims to ensure that regulations,
standards, testing and certification procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.

331
food commodities. Stakeholders should be involved for shifting emphasis from end
product quality control to preventive measures throughout the food chain and
concepts like traceability need to be introduced. Key personnel at the grass root level
for implementing the food safety preventive measures should be identified.
 Food safety should find a place in the curriculum at the school level. It is
always easier to teach young minds and make them inculcate it in their life style than
making an effort to teach the adults whose ‗habits die hard‘. Whatever is taught to a
child will become the habits of his life for all time to come. All children should be
apprised of the necessity of food safety and the need to make the food safe for
consumption as these children only become entrepreneurs, food business operators,
importers, processors, food handlers, if not anything consumers, when they grow big.
 Food safety should be popularised through mass media. Any hotel or restaurant
that we visit, we can witness that the hot food is being served in a plate made of
melamine which is a hard and thermosetting plastic material. The crockery made of
melamine is extremely durable and unbreakable which is a reason for the commercial
establishments to use them widely. But, like any other plastic, dishes made of
melamine can potentially pose health risks by leaching chemicals into the food.
Though the FSSAI in its Regulations has prohibited the use of plastic at any stage of
food production or distribution. Mass awareness programme should be held to
disseminate the danger of eating hot food from a plate made up of melamine.
Everyone should be made aware of the necessity of food safety and the necessity to
ensure that the available food is safe for consumption and right to safe food is an
extension of Right to Life as contemplated in Article 21 of our Constitution.
 It is heartening to note that food testing science and technology is continuously
evolving each day. The advanced and hitech instrumentation and techniques to detect
the minute levels of adulterants and undesirable substances in food articles demands
sophistication right from the beginning like say, sampling and handling of sampling.
With the advancement of technology, globally the legislations dealing with food have
become more stringent than ever before and demanding the food industry to cope up
with the thus set high standards as far as the quality of food is concerned. But lack of
skilled human resource and adequate infrastructure circumvent this. The authorities
need to look into this and initiate suitable action in this direction.

332
  Food poisoning is absolutely preventable if only we have to follow the five key
principles of food hygiene as stipulated by world Health Organisation38 and they are,
Prevent contaminating food with pathogens spreading from people, pets, and
pests.
Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent contaminating the cooked foods.
Cook foods for the appropriate length of time and at the appropriate
temperature to kill pathogens
Store food at the proper temperature.
Use safe water and safe raw materials.
 The FSSAI and its allied committees namely, scientific committees, scientific
panels, the central advisory committee require very efficient and highly skilled staff
which are hard to come by.
 Absolute liability should be attached for the offences which are committed by
the companies under the Act. The representative of the company should not be
allowed to go free just because he proves that the offence has taken place without his
knowledge or he has taken all precautions to prevent the offence.
 FSSAI should take measures on war footing to initiate the FBOs to register
themselves or to obtain licence as the case may be. FSSAI must also require the
FBOs to display their Registration certificate or the License in a prominent place of
business, so that a common man will also know whether the FBO has registered
himself or has obtained the licence or not. FSSAI should also have a dedicated
Helpline only for addressing the grievances of the consumers of food which they can
call in the event of suffering after consuming food at a particular place, if the FBO is
flouting the Rules and Regulations of FSSA or anything which the consumer wishes
to bring it to the knowledge of the authorities. This will help in speedy action than
allowing the law to take its own recourse. As on today a single helpline bearing No
1800112100 is available for consumers grievances, food import clearance system
issues, food registration and licensing system issues, queries on website and FSSAI
initiative‘ sites. This helpline contact number should be mandated to be displayed in a
prominent manner in all premises where food is the concern of the business.
 Adding fuel to fire is the changing scenario of food standards and their typical
rigid requirements do not reach rural India where major portion of Indian population
38
Available at http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/consumer/manual_keys.pdf (accessed on
11/7/2018 at 5.11pm)

333
 resides. Farmers are unaware of the unhealthy inputs that should be avoided in the
farming practice in the form of insecticide, pesticides and fertilisers, as it is common
knowledge that whatever goes in has to manifest in the final product, if the raw
material for the food processing industries are adulterated, it is imminent danger that
the end product will also be laced with adulterants. ―Adulteration and chronic effects
of low level exposure to pesticide residues and toxins can be dangerous to human
health in the long run. Carcinigenic effects of DDT, lead and aflatoxins may become
apparent only in the long run‖ 39 .Organic farming should be popularised and the
government should provide the required economic assistance for the same.
 Food safety records are invariably poor when consumers take back seat & are
ill informed, unorganized and not vocal. Mass food safety movements are, to
paraphrase the definition of democracy, for consumers, by consumers, and of
consumers, must be undertaken. Their success can only be ensured with active
consumer involvement. Most food campaigns fail because they are excessively
controlled by government functionaries with little or no involvement of consumers or
consumers‘ organizations. The organization and empowerment of consumers coupled
with timely redress of grievances form an integral part of any meaningful food safety
move. While consumers have every right to expect uncompromising food safety
standards at competitive prices, they must also be willing to pay extra money. The
most influential and widely quoted statement on consumer rights was from US
President John F. Kennedy in 1968, who highlighted consumers‘ ―right to safety,
right to information, right to choose, and right to be heard.‖ Consumer International
defined eight basic consumer rights: satisfaction of basic needs; information; choose;
safety; representation; redress; consumer education; and a healthy environment. Thus
consumers and consumers‘ rights organizations need to be in the forefront in
exercising their right to food safety and involved in policy formulation. This is
possible only when they are alert, well organized, and present everywhere instead of
only in large cities.
 The government must allow representation of consumer organizations in
regulatory bodies and on consultative committees so that their views are heard and
reflected in policies. The real challenge lies in accepting and honouring the rights of

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 consumers and educating them on those rights. Alert, organized consumers are
essential for creating a food safety chain reaction and turning it into a mass
movement. Isolated legislative efforts and export centric initiatives may succeed at
best only in creating some islands of excellence, leaving the majority of the
population untouched.
 Though agricultural extension services are established across the country,
neither they provide information about the prevailing national and international
standards nor do they assist the farmers by imparting technical knowledge about
changing the cultivation practices and patterns to meet these standards40. In order to
set the standards for food, the availability of true and updated data not only on
consumer related indicator but also on ingredient related indicators is crucial.
Farmers should be encouraged to desist from the rampant use of chemical fertilizers
and the government should incentivise the farmers to employ organic farming by
providing logistic support.
 Causes for hunger are lack of access to adequate food which varies from region
to region, due to which different solutions will be needed in each case. In one of the
studies conducted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry,
the interviewed respondents strongly opined that since reliable data for the
consumption of food is not available, the FSSAI should be mandated to embark on a
comprehensive monitoring of data relating to the levels of food additives,
contaminant levels and health survey and information &data regarding the hazards in
the food industry and their source must also be collected and acted upon at once41.
 Campaigns should be conducted by both the state and central government
creating mass awareness among the people about the need for food safety which
ultimately results in healthy citizenry.Good interaction with the food industry and
with stake holders while ensuring compliance as well as understanding the limitations
that may exist.
 In Europe, US and other developed countries, only food grade lubricants and
greases are mandatory to be used in plant and machinery which manufactures,
processes and packs food, drinks, water and dairy products. Industrial lubricants are
manufactured using petroleum base oils and additives which generally have toxic

40
Sheeba Pillai, ‗Right to Safe Food: Laws And Remedies‟ Vol. 41, No. 2, Ban.L.J. (2012) 119-135
41
FICCI, ‗Study on Implementation of Food Safety Standards Act- An Industry Perspective‟, May 2007
available at foodsafetynews.filters.wordpress.com (accessed on 9/2/2017 at 8.00pm)

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 substance which might dangerously contaminate food items causing severe health
hazards. In US, to avoid this toxic contamination only food grade lubricant like
NSF42 approved in US, is mandatory by Government statuary bodies. In India no
such regulations are mandated by Food Ministry and FSSAI, hence most plants of
food process industry are using toxic industrial grade lubricants. Many smart food
processing plants procure small pack of food grade lubricant to show during
inspection and audits but 99% plants are using non food grade lubricants which are
very toxic. The industrial lubricants are not safe to use in food processing plants
because they are formulated using many toxic material having toxic ingredient while
certified food grade lubricants are formulated using non toxic materials and also
approved by third party like NSF stating that these products are safe for food process
industry.
 Indian food industry ought to adopt hazarad analysis critical control point as a
strategic food quality management system which should emphasise hygiene and
prevention of contamination in the production process. The government should
provide subsidies for the initial fixed costs incurred for the implementation of
HACCP and the food business operators can bear the recurring costs. HACCP
measures which are appropriate to each sector need to be recognized after a vigilant
study and must be implemented.
 The adoption of preventive methods at every stage of food production and food
distribution chain rather than inspection and dismissal/rejection at the final-stage
makes-better –economic- sense. It is common knowledge that food hazards and loss
in the quality occurs at various stages in food chain. A-well=structured-preventive-
approach that could control the process and the production ought to be the preferred
mode to bring positive changes in an effort to make the food safe.
 It is a misconception that urbanites can contribute a great deal for food safety
but, in reality, there is a need for greater involvement of rural sector in food safety
issues. If the farmers are sensitised about the need to make the food safe from the
production stage, half of our battle against unsafe food is won. More food related jobs
need to be created in rural areas.

42
National Sanitation Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization that certifies food service
equipment and ensures it is designed and constructed in a way that promotes food safety. NSF is
internationally recognized.

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  The Indian food industry suffers from lack of trained manpower to handle the
post harvest quality management practices and food processing activities. The
Researcher submits that there is an urgent need for trained manpower to cater to these
needs. Setting up of farm schools on the lines of existing industrial technical
institutes should be prioritised so that essentials of hygiene, food handling practices
and processing can be taught as syllabi in the certificate courses. Such training must
be made mandatory for those who are working in food processing sector.
 Many of the imported food products contain instructions on the label in their
language and not in English which causes inconvenience to us to know the
ingredients and if they contain any ingredient which is prohibited by FSSA, or if the
additives are in order with the standard prescribed by FSSA. Hence the FSSAI should
mandate that all imported food products to contain the information about the food
article in English. Stricter vigilance of imported foods must be emphasised by al the
enforcement agencies. Rules regarding effective labelling must be implemented.
 ―More often than not, we have no representation in the CAC meeting when the
standards for various food products are fixed. Owing to lack of participation,
standards which may be unfavourable for the developing countries get fixed‖ 43. For
effective participation in the CAC meeting, in addition to the civil servant, India
should be represented by an eminent team of food scientists, legal experts and
economists. The Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of agriculture should also be
involved in CAC matters.
 Food safety programmes must be undertaken at all stages of food production,
food processing and distribution chain so that food from farm to finally landing on
the table is made safe i.e. from farm to fork.
 Immediate task before the Government of India is to organise and conduct
workshops and symposiums which can help in evolving a better food policy and to
create awareness among the people to join hands in this noble venture. All the
concerned authorities like officers from the concerned ministries and quasi-
government bodies dealing with different aspects of food, processors, food producers,
trade and industry representatives and consumer groups academicians and researchers
need to be implicated. An exuberant task force required to be constituted including

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interministerial representatives to draw up a food safety policy document. That
document need to be placed before-the public for comments and only then the policy
can be finalised. In continuation, appropriate programmes, policies need to be
developed and implemented reinforcing the existing infrastructure at the centre as
well as state levels. Uniform implementation of these measures throughout the
country may ensure quality, safe and hygienic food for domestic consumption as well
as for export.

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