Tainted Bites, Tattered Rights

What we eat shouldn't harm us—but across India, food adulteration continues to endanger lives, raising urgent questions about safety, accountability, and the right to clean nutrition

- RAAVI BIRBAL

Food adulteration has been a global concern for a long time. Clean food is a basic human right. Adulteration is done in various ways and broadly falls under two categories: intentional and incidental or accidental adulteration. An adulteration in which food items are intentionally adulterated, diluted, or tampered with is termed intentional adulteration. Incidental or accidental adulteration, as the name suggests, is adulteration that happens without any deliberate or intentional attempt on the part of the supplier.

The Food Safety and Standards Act (FSS), 2006, is the primary law for the regulation of food products. This Act, inter alia, sets up the formulation and enforcement of food safety standards in India. The statute is a bucket for several older laws, rules, and regulations for food safety. The FSS Act brought together seven older acts under one umbrella, such as the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954; Fruit Products Order, 1955; Meat Food Products Order, 1973; Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947; Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1998; Solvent Extracted Oil, De-Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967; and Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been set up under this statute.