Food Safety and Standards Act

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https://resourcerepository.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/handle/apurr/43

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    Performance Audit on Food Safety and Standards Act in Puducherry (2016-2019)
    (CAG of India, 02-09-2021) CAG of India
    For assessing the efficacy of the vigilance and enforcement mechanism, an audit of implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 covering the period 2016-17 to 2018-19 was conducted from April 2019 to August 2019 to derive an assurance that: i. Adequate human resources and infrastructure were in place for efficient implementation of the Act; ii. Regularity mechanism/processes in grant/renewal of licence to FBOs were in accordance with the provisions of the Act; and ii. Effective process for enforcement and monitoring were in place.
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    Performance Audit on Food Safety and Standards Act in Madhya Pradesh (2014-2019)
    (CAG of India, 21-12-2021) CAG of India
    Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 regulates the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of food to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. Performance audit of its implementation revealed that the existing legal framework was deficient, as the Government of Madhya Pradesh (GoMP) did not establish separate Food Safety Appellate Tribunal (FSAT) and also separate special or ordinary courts for trial of offences as required under the Act/Rules, despite increase in appeal and serious cases pending in District & Sessions Judges’ court and Chief Judicial Magistrates’ court respectively as of February 2020. The administrative machinery was also lacking, as all the important posts including Commissioner, Food Safety, Designated Officers (DOs) etc. necessary for overseeing the implementation of FSS Act were held as additional charge. Manpower vacancies of 61 per cent at various levels further crippled the Department in conducting survey and inspections of Food Business Operators (FBOs), which is critical to ensure compliance with the Act. The Department could not ensure collection of penalties of INR 3.64 crore imposed under the Act and also did not initiate RRC proceedings against the defaulter FBOs. Other issues of non-maintenance of database of FBOs, pendency of applications for license/registration, FBOs operating fair price shops, liquor shops etc. without licenses, fewer number of regulatory samples drawn and analysed and shortfall in analysis of surveillance samples were noticed. Existence of robust testing infrastructure is intrinsic to the objective of food safety. However, the State Food Laboratory (SFL), Bhopal was not completely upgraded for microbiological testing and food labs at Indore and Ujjain were also not upgraded which affected the food analysis work. The Department also took no action to establish level 2 food labs at three places in the State. The CFS at State level and DOs at district levels did not generate the list of defaulters from the Food Licensing & Registration System (FLRS) software to ascertain expired licenses/ registrations.
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    Performance Audit on Food Safety and Standards Act in Kerala (2016-2021)
    (CAG of India, 28-06-2022) CAG of India
    The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an independent statutory authority responsible for the enforcement of various provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act and Rules in the States. In Kerala, the Commissioner of Food Safety (Commissioner) under the Health and Family Welfare Department was appointed in July 2008 for implementation of the Act in the State. The Compliance Audit was conducted from January 2021 to September 2021 covering the period 2016-21. Efficient implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 in the State suffered from deficiencies relating to various stages of implementation such as licensing and registration, inspection and sample collection, food analysis and monitoring. Monitoring by the department was insufficient as reflected in the absence of mechanism to follow up on Food Business Operators (FBO) whose licences had expired, non-adherence to the norms for inspection of registered FBOs etc. There was delay in issue of licences and registrations by the Food Safety Department. Comparison of database of FBOs maintained by the Food Safety Department with similar data available with other Government agencies/ LSGIs revealed that a large number of FBOs remained outside the ambit of monitoring by the Department. Providing registration instead of licences to FBOs had resulted in revenue loss to the State. The Designated officers did not prescribe the periodicity for inspecting licensed FBOs and the provisions of inspecting all registered FBOs annually were not adhered to by the Department. The Department could not ensure that non-conforming products did not reach the public. The FSSAI notified laboratories in the State were not NABL accredited for all the parameters and are not equipped to test all the parameters essential for declaring a particular food sample as safe. The laboratories entrusted with the function of testing offerings at Sabarimala temple and the raw materials used in making of offerings were declaring the food as safe without testing all required parameters. The recovery of penalty and compounding charges from erring FBOs was in arrears. There was shortfall in utilising funds for IEC activities meant for creating awareness about provisions of the Food Safety Act/ Rules/ Regulations.
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    Performance Audit on Implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act
    (CAG of India, 2017) CAG of India
    The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 was enacted to consolidate multiple laws in the country relating to food safety, to establish a single point reference system, and to establish the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for formulating science based standards for food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. This is the first audit of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The Performance Audit, covering the period 2011-12 to 2015-16, was taken up with a view to assess the performance of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Food Authority and the food authorities in nine selected States and one UT. The performance audit attempts to examine the efficacy of the regulatory and administrative mechanisms for implementation of the Act, the food testing laboratory infrastructure and human resources framework, adherence to Licensing and Registration procedures in terms of the Act, systems for inspection, sampling and prosecution procedures, regulation of import of food articles, mechanisms for grievance redressal, and IEC (information, education and communication) activities of FSSAI. The audit revealed systemic inefficiencies, including delays and deficiencies in the framing of various regulations and standards. Audit also observed amendments to regulations in violation of the Act and specific directions of the Supreme Court. Most of the state food laboratories entrusted with food testing and certification functions, were not only ill equipped but also did not possess accreditation of the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). Further, enforcement activities relating to licensing, registration, inspection, sampling and prosecution were inadequate. FSSAI has failed to finalise the recruitment regulations. Irregularities were also observed in the appointment of contractual employees. While the performance audit primarily covers the period from 2011-2012 to 2015-2016, matters relating to subsequent periods have also been included, wherever necessary.