The Food Safety and Standards Act (FSS Act), 2006 was envisioned as a transformative law — consolidating multiple food laws into a unified, science-based framework under the central authority of FSSAI. Yet, nearly two decades on, India’s food safety enforcement remains fragmented, under-resourced, and plagued by procedural lapses.
Enforcement Crisis: FSOs Spread Too Thin
One of the most critical gaps lies in staffing. As per the FSSAI 2021 report, just 2,531 Food Safety Officers (FSOs) were responsible for overseeing nearly 1 crore food vendors. States like Jharkhand face a 93% FSO vacancy rate, effectively disabling local enforcement. Without adequate human resources, core functions like inspections, sampling, and prosecutions are severely compromised.
Labs and Legal Loopholes
India’s food testing infrastructure is under-equipped. Of 178 recognized labs, only 72 are state-run — and many lack NABL accreditation, undermining legal validity. In high-profile cases like the MAGGI ban, such lapses led to judicial reversals. Similarly, between 2018 and 2021, only 10 convictions occurred out of 1,906 failed food samples, exposing a broken adjudication system.
Accountability Gaps & Institutional Overlap
The FSSAI is the apex body, but actual enforcement is delegated to state food safety authorities — often leading to overlapping jurisdictions and delayed responses. Procedural oversights, such as failing to serve Form VA notices, continue to derail prosecution efforts.
Moreover, there’s little public transparency: food safety violation data isn’t maintained by the NCRB, and the CAG has flagged FSSAI for lacking internal audit mechanisms and performance tracking.
What Needs Fixing
To rebuild trust and effectiveness, key reforms are essential:
- Fill FSO vacancies across states
- Upgrade testing labs, ensure NABL accreditation
- Standardise training and certification through FSSAI’s FoSTaC program
- Use digital tools for inspections and enforcement tracking
- Introduce annual audits and state-wise performance disclosures
Conclusion
India’s food safety regime needs more than legislation — it needs accountability, trained personnel and operational transparency. Also know about the FSSAI enforcement of FSS in Advertising and claims. Only then can FSSAI and state authorities truly protect consumer health and deliver on the promise of the FSS Act. To Read more, click here.