Virender Singh Gahlot

Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006: an Act for Corporate Control over Traditional Food Business and Operations in India Virender Singh Gahlot

Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA)- 2006 was enacted with the aim to provide quality food to the population of India. Under this act an institution called Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is created. It is empowered to regulate food industry, operations and trade. By the literal meaning and phrase of the name, Food Safety and Standards sound very interesting and gives an impression of quality food in Indian market. However on a closer and careful look at the provisions of this act indicates, that the main aim of this act is to control food business in the name of standards. The most surprising fact in this act is - its complete silence on the issue of food adulteration - which is a bigger concern amongst the Indian consumers. Food adulteration should have got prime importance in any food safety legislation, however in FSSA-2006, the key focus are on substandard and misbranded food items. It is more focused on packaging and printing rather than on quality. This act has failed to look at the ground environmental conditions while drafting the act. It squarely implies that any food related problems are mainly due to food processors and traders. This is factually wrong.