Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006: A Perspective

Multiplicity of food laws, standard setting and enforcement agencies pervade different sectors of food, creating confusion in the minds of consumers, traders, manufacturers and investors. Detailed provisions under various laws regarding the admissibility and levels of food additives, contaminants, food colors, preservatives, etc., and other related requirements have varied standards under these laws. The standards are often rigid and non-responsive to scientific advancements and modernization. The multiplicity of laws, their enforcement and standard setting, as well as various implementing agencies have proved to be detrimental to the growth of the nascent food processing industry and not conducive to effective fixation of food standards and their enforcement. The Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry appointed a subject group on food and agro industries in 1998. The Standing Committee of Parliament on Agriculture, in its 12th report submitted in April 2005, desired that the much needed legislation on integrated food law should be expedited.