Food Adulteration
in India: Penalties, Complaint and Remedies
Food
adulteration is a concerning issue in India. It not only brings down the
nutritional value but also adds harmful chemicals and acids in our food. Due to
the low literacy rate in some areas, people are not aware of such things, and
they consume these harmful chemicals and acids unknowingly. From food poisoning
to death, these adulterated food items, including medicines, vegetables, paste,
creams, products of famous brands and so on are a growing issue.
Penalties imposed
under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006
Under
Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, following penalties are imposed upon the
people who commit food adulteration. Section 50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59
states the penalties:
1.
Any person who sells to the purchaser’s prejudice any substance which is not
according to how the consumer actually demanded or is not according to the
provisions demanded shall be liable to the penalty not exceeding five lakh
rupees.
2.
Any person who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf
manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes or imports any food
item for human consumption which is of lower quality or sub-standard, shall be
liable to a penalty which may extend to five lakh rupees.
3.
Any person who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf
manufactures for the sale or stores or distributes or imports any food item for
human consumption which is misbranded, i.e. the food item which is in not
accordance with the statutory requirements of the act, or brands the food in a
misleading way, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to three lakh
rupees.
4.
Any person who publishes or is a party to a publication of an advertisement
which falsely represents the quality of the food or gives a false guarantee of
the food shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to ten lakh rupees.
5.
Any person who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf
manufactures for the sale or stores or distributes or imports any food item for
human consumption which contains any matter which is decayed or extraneous,
shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to one lakh rupees.
6.
Any person whether by himself or by any other person manufactures a food
article to sell it to the consumer, under unhygienic or unsanitary conditions,
shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to one lakh rupees.
7.
If any person distributes an adulterant which is not injurious to health, the
fine may be one lakh rupees, and if that adulterant is injurious to health, the
fine may exceed to ten lakh rupees.
8.
Whoever contravenes to any of the provisions of the act, shall be liable to pay
the penalty which may extend to two lakh rupees.
9.
Any person whether by himself or any other person manufactures a food article
with the knowledge of selling it to the consumer sells unsafe food which can
injure the person or lead to the death of the person shall be liable to pay the
fine which may exceed to ten lakh rupees and maybe imprisonment for not less
than seven years.
Complaint
Whenever
a person comes to know or is a victim of any case of food adulteration, he or
she can file a complaint at;
Tier
1: manufacturer/ shopkeeper
Tier 2: Local Health Authority of India or district
commissioner of the food safety Authority of the state/ union territory
Tier 3: Consumer
Forum
Consumer forums
are on three levels: District, State and National. District Consumer forum has
the original jurisdiction, and appellate jurisdiction lies with state and
national consumer forums.
Consumers can
also contact to FSSAI( The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) which
is a statutory body to supervise the rules and regulations. FSSAI also launched
a digital platform called the ‘Food Safety Voice’ where consumers can register
their complaints and food safety issues.
Remedies
available to the consumers
Section 65 Food
Safety and Standards Act, 2006 lays down the provisions of compensation in case
of injury or death of a consumer:
Any person who
by himself or any other person manufactures a food article which may be
injurious to the consumer or his death shall be made liable to pay the victim a
fine which may be exceeded to
i) not less than
five lakh rupees in case of death;
ii) not
exceeding three lakh rupees in case of grievous injury;
iii) not
exceeding one lakh rupees in all other cases of injury.
Provided that
the compensation need to be paid at the earliest before six months and in case
of death, an interim relief should be sent to the victim’s family within a
period of thirty days.