What is the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 (FSSA 2006)?

The Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 (FSSA 2006), commonly known as the FSSAI Act, is a comprehensive piece of legislation enacted to consolidate various food laws in India. It aims to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption by regulating the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food products.

What is the main objective of the FSSA 2006?

The primary objective of the FSSA 2006 is to consolidate various food laws, eliminate multi-level and multi-departmental controls, and establish a unified regulatory framework for food safety in India. It aims to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

What is the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)?

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an independent authority established under the FSSA 2006. It is responsible for enforcing food safety standards, regulating food products' manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import, and ensuring the availability of safe and wholesome food for consumers.

What are some of the new concepts introduced by the FSSA 2006?

The FSSA 2006 introduces several new concepts, including Food Safety Management Systems, Food Safety Audits, Risk Analysis, Risk Assessment, and Risk Management. These concepts aim to create a modern and integrated approach to food safety in India.

Food Safety And Standards Act 2006 | Processed Food Industry-B2B Magazine

Q: When was the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 enacted?

The FSSA 2006 was passed by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and received the assent of the President on 23rd August 2006.

Q: How does the FSSA 2006 differ from the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) 1954?

Unlike the PFA Act 1954, the FSSA 2006 provides for the licensing and regulation of food business operators. It establishes the FSSAI as an independent authority with statutory power, replacing the Central Committee of Food Standards, which was only an advisory body under the PFA Act.

Passed on 23rd August 2006, the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 is a comprehensive and modern piece of legislation and a step towards the consolidation of different food laws, explains Saurabh Sharma.

The Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 (FSSA 2006), commonly known as the FSSAI Act, marked a significant reform in India’s approach to food safety regulation. The Act, was passed by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and received the assent of the President on 23rd August 2006. The Act is a comprehensive and modern piece of legislation and a step towards the consolidation of different food laws. It aims at the elimination of multi-level and multi-departmental control.

The FSSA 2006 encompasses a wide range of provisions, including the establishment of scientific standards for food products, regulation of their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import, and the enforcement of food safety standards to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

Transforming Food Safety in India

This Act replaced several older laws, creating a unified and efficient framework for food safety and standards in India. This Act repeals following Orders:

Fruits Products Order,1955
Meat Food Products Order,1947
Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation)Order,1998
Solvent Extracted Oil, De-oiled meal and Edible Flour Order,1967
Milk and Milk Products Order,1992
Any other Order issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of 1955) relating to food.
- The Act establishes the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (hereinafter called the Food Authority). Food Authority shall consist of a Chairperson and twenty-two members out of which one- third shall be women. The act provides for the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer who shall be the legal representative of the Food Authority and responsibility for the day to day administration of the Authority.
- The Act requires the Food Authority to prepare an annual report of its activities and forward the same to the Central Government and the State Governments. Act empowers the Central Government to issue directions to the Food Authority on the matters of policy and in obtaining reports and returns.
The Food Authority and State Food Authority (appointed by State Government) shall be responsible for the enforcement of the act. Act provides for appointment of Commissioner of Food Safety, Designated Officers, Food Safety Officers and Food Analysts for implementation of the act.

Act prescribes graded penalties depending on the gravity of offence and accordingly civil penalties for minor offences and punishment for serious violations.

The act enables the establishment of a Food Safety Appellate Tribunal consisting of one person as a Presiding Officer to be appointed by the Central or State Government as the case may be. An appeal against the decision or order of the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal may be filed before High Court within sixty days from the date of communication of the decision or order of the tribunal.

The act empowers the Central Government to give directions to the State Government for carrying out provisions of the Act and to remove any difficulty that may arise in the implementation of the act.

The Objectives of the Food Safety and Standards Act

Food Safety and Standards Act 2006: A Comprehensive Approach

Aims to consolidate food laws and curb food adulteration.
Proposes higher penalties for food law violations.
Establishes a Food Safety Management System for safe, wholesome food availability.
Establishes the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for enforcing food safety standards.
Aims to meet the dynamic requirements of the Indian Food Industry/Trade and International Trade.
Introduces concepts like Food Safety, Food Safety Management Systems, and Food Safety Audit.
Introduces concepts like Risk Analysis, Risk Assessment, and Risk Management.
Establishes an independent Food Safety and Standards Authority, replacing the Central Committee of Food Standards.
Provides for the Licencing and Regulation of Food Business Operators.

The objective of the Food Safety and Standards Act is to consolidate the laws relating to food and to curb Food Adulteration by prescribing higher penalties for violation of food laws. It will also establish a Food Safety Management System for ensuring availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will also be established for enforcing the food safety standards.

The FSSAI Act aims at meeting the dynamic requirements of the Indian Food Industry/Trade and International Trade. The reform process of the country’s Food Safety Administration comes in the wake of India’s potential to garner a higher share in increasing World Food Trade. The advent of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has led to increasing recognition and adoption of Food Safety measures. The Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 ushers in new concepts such as Food Safety, Food Safety Management Systems and Food Safety Audit. The Act also introduces concepts like Risk Analysis, Risk Assessment and Risk Management. The Act is a comprehensive and modern piece of legislation that intends to ensure movement from multi-level and multi-departmental control to an integrated line of command.

How does the FSSA 2006 differ from the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) 1954?

The objectives of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 go far beyond the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), 1954. The Act establishes Food Safety and Standards Authority (an independent authority with statutory power) which replaces the Central Committee of Food Standards which is only an advisory body under the PFA Act, 1954. Further, the Act unlike the PFA Act, 1954 provides for the Licencing and Regulation of Food Business Operators.

Conclusion

The Act apart from making stringent provisions (e.g. prescribing higher penalties etc.) to curb Food Adulteration also ushers in new concepts such as putting in place Food Safety Management Systems to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

However, Small and Medium-scale industries that do not have the technical expertise to track the regulatory changes may find it difficult to identify the procedural and compliance changes brought in by the Act. Thus, there is need for conducting awareness/training programmes for Industry. Further, the Act suggests much stiffer monetary penalties for violations which may be a point of concern for Indian Food Players.

Nevertheless, the Act apart from being a step towards the consolidation of Food Laws aims at laying down scientific standards for food articles, to regulate the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and to ensure the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

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