Surveillance drives, inspections, and random sampling by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have resulted in 88,192 penalties and 3,614 convictions out of 5,18,559 sample analyses, as per government data. Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav, revealed that over the period of 2022–23 to 2024–25, 1,161 licenses were canceled following random sampling of products like milk, ghee, spices, honey, and paneer.
The FSSAI conducts surveillance activities throughout the year to ensure compliance with quality and safety standards under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Officials from Food Safety Departments of states/UTs and FSSAI Regional Offices carry out these checks to monitor adherence to prescribed parameters.
Risk-based inspections totaling 56,259 were conducted during the period, with inspection frequency determined by the risk level associated with food businesses. The ministry stated that annual inspections are mandatory for high-risk food categories to maintain safety standards and issued guidelines.
FSSAI has established 252 food testing laboratories and 24 Referral Food Laboratories for analyzing appellate samples. Additionally, the deployment of 305 Mobile Food Testing Laboratories, known as “Food Safety on Wheels” (FSWs), across 35 states/UTs has been funded by FSSAI to combat food adulteration through on-the-spot testing.
Financial and technical support is extended by FSSAI to states/UTs for strengthening enforcement and compliance activities, including licensing, consumer grievance redressal, and officer capacity building. The organization also focuses on enhancing the food testing ecosystem by providing advanced equipment for labs and promoting initiatives like ‘Eat Right Campus’ and ‘Eat Right School’.
FSSAI’s core responsibility is to establish science-based standards for food products and regulate their production, storage, distribution, sale, and import to ensure the availability of safe and nutritious food for human consumption. However, the minister emphasized that enforcement at the field level is primarily the responsibility of state food safety authorities.
