ABSTRACT

In our India, people believe that Maa Annapurna is a goddess of food. So they offer prayers to her to get her blessings. We know that food, shelter, and clothing are the three basic needs of human beings. Food is one of the essential things for our livelihood. We require food daily.

Our Indian Constitution also emphasizes on “Right to food” and “Right to health” under Article 21. The food we consume daily should be pure, healthy, and hygienic. But, unfortunately, in the current scenario, people for their economic benefit are practicing food adulteration.

Food adulteration is an illegal practice committed by food shop owners, restaurant owners, street food vendors, food product manufacturers, etc. It is a process in which some foreign material or unwanted material is added to a food item which makes it cheaper. It is done by food shop vendors for their profits. Nowadays, India is facing a food adulteration problem at large. It is one of the rising issues in India after independence. Food adulteration of food contamination causes damage to the health of people who consume that adulterated food. It is very dangerous for the health of the people. Food Adulteration leads to many health issues like vomiting, food poisoning, diarrhea, stomachache, etc. Adulteration is like a silent poison that deteriorates the health of millions of innocent people.

We have many examples of food adulteration which are happening surrounding us like water is mixed in milk, husk is mixed in cereals, and rangoli is mixed in flour and many more. All these food products lack nutritional value and after consuming them, people face many health problems. As far as the current situation in India, 28% of food is adulterated as per the FSSAI report. Food adulteration is increasing day by day. India is the highest country in Food adulteration. To prevent food adulteration in India, the government enacted the prevention of food

Adulteration and food safety. After that in 2006, a comprehensive Act was enacted named as Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. This Act repealed all the previous existing food laws in India.

To prevent food adulteration in India, we have to create awareness regarding food adulteration laws in India among people. This research paper aims to conduct a comprehensive study of different food adulteration laws in India as well and the researcher wants to make people aware of their legal rights as a consumer. This research work is a detailed study of various food laws, rules, and orders in India and the legal rights of consumers.

Keywords:  Food Adulteration, Consumer, Prevention of Food Adulteration :

INTRODUCTION

            Food is like a fuel that is required to run our human body. If the food that we eat daily is not pure, if it is unhygienic, cheap, low quality, and lacks nutritional value then definitely it would be dangerous for our health. Food adulteration of food contamination is an illegal practice. It is a process of adding impurities or foreign materials to make the food cheap and to increase its quantity without compromising its quality. Food adulteration endangers national health and people’s health. People are also committing corruption in food products for illegal gains. To curb this illegal practice, the need for comprehensive laws prohibiting food adulteration was felt in 1937. Further, the prevention of food adulteration in 1955 was passed. It was passed to provide strong solutions regarding food adulteration problems. The purpose of this Act is to make sure that all people should get pure food for consumption purposes. Likewise, other food adulteration legislations, orders, and rules were passed. All these legislations were passed to ensure food safety and to prohibit food adulteration. Over the period, the need for one umbrella type or comprehensive food law fell, so all these minor laws were amalgamated into one major food law. Hence, in 2006 FSSAI was passed.

            The research paper aims to make a critical analysis of all these food laws, rules, and orders. To study their objectives, implications, and salient features. The researcher wants to address the food adulteration issue in India by studying all food adulteration-related legislation, to find out what loopholes are if any, and finally provide some suggestions regarding food adulteration laws in India. So that we would be able to overcome this major problem. This research paper also throws light on the legal rights and legal remedies available to consumers.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

            For this research paper, the researcher used the doctrinal research methodology. The primary sources for this research paper are important food adulteration legislation which was passed in parliament, online research papers written by other scholars, and the authorized website of FSSAI.

LITERATURE REVIEW

            For this research, the author studied books, online research papers, and legislation that was passed by the parliament. The author studied in detail all these primary sources as well and the researcher also went through the FSSAI website.

OBJECTIVE

            The main objective of this research paper is to study all food adulteration laws in India in detail, so a comprehensive work can be done on this topic. The purpose of this integrated research work is to create awareness about public health, food adulteration, food safety laws, orders, rules, and legal rights available to consumers among readers.

WHAT IS FOOD ADULTERATION?

            As per the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1955, Food adulteration means “The addition or subtraction of any substance to or from food. So that the natural composition and quality of food substance is affected. The adulterant means “it is a substance which is used to contaminate or adulterate the other. It is one type of substance which is used in adulteration. Food becomes ready to eat when it goes through various processes like manufacturing, processing, packaging, etc. So food adulteration can take place at any stage of food processing from production to selling.

            Food adulteration is a malpractice regarding the quality of food so that the natural composition and quality of the food substance are affected. An adulterant is a substance which leads to adulteration. It is a substance that is added or substituted to the original food ingredients in a main food product to lower the quality of food. It makes the food item cheaper and not safe to eat or to consume. Adulterated food is like a toxin for our human body.

CATEGORIES OF FOOD ADULTERATION

Broadly there are three categories of food adulteration in India. These are as follows:

1. Replacement – It means complete or partial replacement of the valuable ingredients.
2. Addition – Addition of non-authentic ingredients or addition of cheap thing
3. Removal – Removal of authentic valuable ingredients which was supposed to be part of it

TYPES OF ADULTERATION

Food adulteration can be classified into three major types. The brief discussion about all these types of adulteration is as follows:

1. Intentional Adulteration – This is one type of adulteration that is perfumed with a particular intention. It is committed by milk distributors or sweet shop vendors. This adulteration occurs due to the greediness in people. They add some cheapest or another food substance instead of the original ingredient to increase the number of food items. It is for economic gain. Intentional adulteration is very dangerous or injurious to human health. E.g. water is mixed in milk to increase its quantity. We came across these illegal activities in day-to-day life. Such milk is not healthy and it is not sufficient to fulfill the nutritional requirement of our body. Another example would be some people adding stone, marble chips, sand, or husk in grains or pulses. This substance causes disease or infection in the human body. We know that such kinds of activities are also happening in the case of ration food which is distributed by the government at a very low cost for poor people. It indicates that the government is failing to keep invigilation or surveillance on these illegal activities. Improper implementation of laws by government officers is the main problem.
2. Natural Adulteration – In this type of adulteration, natural products are developed that contain toxins such as seafood, pulses, green vegetables, mushrooms, etc. It may be intentional or unintentional. It can be done in chemical or organic compounds.
3. Accidental Adulteration – This adulteration is not intentional or natural. It occurs due to negligence, carelessness, or ignorance among people. Sometimes people working in the packaging industry act negligently. Due to their ignorance, some foreign particles or unwanted substances get added to the original food product. This adulteration occurred by mistake. Creating alertness among vendors is the only solution to prevent such kind of adulteration.
4. Metallic Adulteration – Metallic adulteration is adulteration caused due to the addition of some metal to a food product. Excessive consumption or consumption of dangerous metals causes serious health issues. This adulteration is caused due to the presence of certain metals like Pb, Cr, Ni, As, and Sn in food.

LEGISLATION GOVERNING FOOD ADULTERATION IN INDIA

There are various legislation enacted after independence to keep check on food adulteration practices. Among these, the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1955 is a principal law, and the remaining are minor laws. To understand fo0od adulteration legislation in India, it is important to study all these laws comprehensively and thoroughly. Along with this, the government also passed some orders and rules which were supplementary to the main laws. Let us have a look at each piece of legislation governing the Food Act. The brief discussion on some of the important food adulteration laws is as follows:

1. PREVENTION OF FOOD ADULTERATION ACT 1955

This is one of the principal food laws. It was amended in 1964, 1976, and 1986. The Act was enacted to protect from adulteration or contamination of food products. This adulterated food may cause a high risk to the health of the consumers. In our country, some dealers whose job is to supply food products get corrupt in the food supply. They committed fraud in the food supply. Instead of pure food products, generally, they used to supply cheap or adulterated food. Hence, these people are the offenders under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1955. The main purpose behind enacting this law is to prevent food products from becoming contaminated food. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act applies all over India. This Act gives a comprehensive definition of adulteration. This Act also provides penalties for those vendors who violate any provisions of this law. Let us look at some of the penalty provisions of this Act:

1. If any vendor violates any law for the first time, a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 1 year imprisonment or a maximum Rs 2000 fine shall be imposed on him.
2. If any vendor violates the law for the second time, a maximum of 6 years imprisonment and the license of the vendor will be canceled.
3. If adulterated food leads to injury to the health of any consumer, the vendor is punishable under section 320 of the Indian penal code.

To keep a check on food adulteration practices committed by vendors or to take samples of adulterated food products and check their standards, the central government or state government can appoint food inspectors. They are the representatives or officers of the government. He is deemed to be a public servant under section 21 of the Indian penal code. The food inspectors have to collect samples from the vendors and send them to the laboratory for testing purposes. If it is found that the food product is adulterated he may give an order to stop the manufacturing and selling of the food products. This Act also speaks about the responsibilities of the central government under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1955. Implementation of provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1955 is very crucial. The government has a responsibility to look after the implementation of the law by regular visitation and demanding reports from the state government. The government also works to create awareness among the consumers by organizing training programmers. This Act covers food standards, general procedures for sampling, analysis of food, powers of authorized officers, penalties, and other parameters related to food.^[1]

• THE FOOD PRODUCTS ORDER 1955

The Fruit Product Order 1955 was promulgated under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act 1955. The objective of this was to maintain hygienic conditions while the manufacturing of the fruits and vegetables product at the manufacturing unit. This order ensures that fruit products should be manufactured in clean premises with adequate quantity. This order was passed to maintain the quality standards of the food products on the food products. This is a certification mark applied on the food products packaging. After seeing this mark, the consumer gets an acknowledgment that the product is hygienic and has quality. This order makes it mandatory for all manufacturers of fruits and vegetables products to obtain a license. This food product order mark is applied to all processed fruit products in India such as pickles bottles, fruit jams, beverages, and fruit extracted. The requirement for obtaining a license under this order is to maintain personal hygiene, clean premises, water should be portable, efficient machinery and equipment, quality control facility, and technical staff.

• VEGETABLE OIL PRODUCTS ( CONTROL) ORDER 1947

In our country, adulteration in oil is rising nowadays. Oil is one of the essential food products which we use daily. This order was passed to ensure the quality of edible oil. Also to ensure that oil should be refined first before it is consumed by the consumers. As per this order, “Every producer or dealer shall follow all the directions related to the sale, stock, and distribution of vegetable oil products. He has to maintain records relating to the above aide things. Here, “controller” means “an officer appointed by the central government. He is a principal officer under this Act. He may order any manufacturer or dealer to stop the sale, stock, and distribution of oil products if he finds that the oil is adulterated”.^[2]

• THE MEAT FOOD PRODUCTS ORDER 1973

The regulations regarding meat food products are covered in the meat food products in the meat Food Products Order 1973. This order was passed to regulate the production and sale of meat food products. It mandates licenses for all producers or manufacturers. It was passed to ensure cleanliness and sanitary conditions at the manufacturing unit of meat products. Apart from this, the said order speaks about quality maintenance at all stages of meat food products. Meat products are difficult to preserve since they are perishable. Various types of diseases can be transmitted from animals to human beings. E.g. bird flu. Hence to avoid these circumstances, as per this order,” all manufacturers of meat products who are manufacturing, selling, packaging meat products should have a valid license for all those business activities.”^[3]

• ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES ACT 1955

This Act is also called a public interest Act. It was enacted for the public welfare. This Act deals with “the control of the production, supply, and distribution of and trade and commerce, in certain commodities.”^[4] It is one of the most important Acts for every country. After the Second World War, India was facing a shortage of food products or essential commodities. In our society, some dealers create shortages of food, daily needed products, and essential commodities for their illegal gains. This leads to the security of food products. Hence, to curb such illegal practices and to regulate commodities distribution aid Act was passed. Under this Act, the government has the power to cultivate, produce, store, distribute, and sell essential commodities. This Act governs the delivery and supply of commodities or products. It is all about the governing essentials of food items.

• PROVISIONS REGARDING FOOD ADULTERATION PUNISHMENTS IN INDIAN PENAL CODE 1860

Chapter 14 of the Indian penal code deals with offenses against public health. We know that health is wealth. So it is the responsibility of the state to enact some machinery that works for the protection of public health. Offenses against public health are punishable under the Indian Penal Code 1860. Sections 272 and 273 deal with the penal provisions against food adulteration activities. “Section 272 speaks about adulteration of food or drink intended for sale. If somebody intends to contaminate food or drink, due to such illegal activity if the food becomes dangerous or poisonous to the human body, then the person who is selling such food or drink is punishable under section 272 of the Indian penal code. This offense is non cognizable, boilable, and non-compoundable. The punishment for this offense is up to 6 months or with a fine maximum of Rs 1000 or both.” ^[5]Section 273 of the Indian penal code speaks about the sale of noxious food or drink. “It means any person who is selling or offering to sell any food or drink which would be harmful to health is punishable. It is a non-cognizable, boilable, non-compoundable offense. The punishment for this offense is up to 6 months, or with a fine maximum of Rs 1000 or both.”^[6]

• FOOD STANDARDS AND SAFETY ACT 2006

In 2006, the need was felt to amalgamate all existing food laws into one major law. Hence Food standards and safety Act 2006. It is one type of consolidating statute. It is a compilation of laws relating to food and to establish the food safety and standards authority of India. It laid down standards for food products and it regulates their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import. This Act ensures that people should get safe food.” The objective of this Act is to avoid adulteration and safe delivery of food items without adulteration. The food authority and the state food safety authorities shall be responsible for the enforcement of this Act. They act as a monitoring authority. There would be a food analyst, his function is to send a report to a designated officer with a copy to the commissioner of food safety within 14 days.

• CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2019

It is said that consumers are the kings. They are like a god for the vendors. It is important to protect their rights and interests. This Act was enacted to protect the interests and rights of the consumers. Under this Act. Consumer grievance forums are established at the district level, state level, and national level. The consumers whose rights get violated can approach the consumer court and get relief.

LEGAL RIGHTS OF THE CONSUMERS

If any consumer’s right gets violated by any food shop vendor, street food vendor, or restaurant owner, or if any person gets injured or damaged after consuming adulterated food then he may file a written complaint to the food inspector. He may file a complaint by calling on the helpline number or by writing an email to the website of fssai. If adulteration of food has occurred proved by the complainant then the court may order the accused to pay compensation to the victim.

SUGGESTIONS

The suggestions for prevention of food adulteration are as follows:

1. We need to focus on improving the storage facilities of food grains and other foodstuffs.
2. The government should organize more campaigns to create awareness for food adulterations and the legal rights of customers among people
3. The government can open “adulteration awareness cells” where people can report cases of food adulteration directly
4. Proper implementation of food adulteration laws is necessary

CONCLUSION

Food is essential for our survival. Hence it must be pure, healthy, and hygienic. Food adulteration laws deal with preventive measures, testing measures of food adulteration, and penalties for those who violate the laws. Food adulteration is one of the rising problems in India. To overcome this problem, we have to be aware of food adulteration practices and government officers should take care of the proper implementation of the food l

 

 

                                                                  Name – Vaishnvi Ajit Bidarkar

                                                                  College – Manikchand Pahade Law College

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[1] K. Jyotsana, Ambalika Aditi Dubey, Critical analysis of food adulteration in India, Volume 9 Issue 8 International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), ISSN:2320-2882, d521,d521-527,2021

[2] vegetable 0il product (control) order 1947,Section 1, Notification No. 2-VP(2)/47, 9^th August,1947

[3] The meat food products order 1973, Section 4, S.O.No. 1677, 7.7.2004

[4] The Essential Commodities Act ,1955, No.10, Act of Parliament of India

[5] Indian Penal Code,1860, Section 272,No 45,Acts of Parliament,1860(India)

[6] Indian Penal Code,1860, Section 273,No 45,Acts of Parliament,1860 (India)