India: No country for unsafe food

Food safety has suddenly sparked much furore among the government, media and consumers. Thanks to Maggi containing lead above standard norms, government is instrumenting various measures to keep food products under check. However, scrutinizing imported food products being a task and thereby delaying delivery of products to the retail stores, India has decided to do away with the practice of putting each imported food consignment through lab checks and switch to the international norm of random and risk-based inspections.

As per a news report in The Economic Times, the Prime Minister's Office and the cabin secretariat have held discussions on the matter with the ministries and departments concerned.

Under the prevailing mechanism, there have been instances of consignments of Swiss chocolates and other popular food products languishing at Indian ports for days. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), the apex indirect taxes body, also wants checks by various agencies such as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, plant quarantine, animal quarantine, Drug Controller of India and wildlife authorities to be crunched and specified so that the industry knows beforehand the time limit required for clearance of any import consignment.

"The time frame will have to be brought down substantially," an official told the ET. All departments have been told to fix the stipulated time for testing as 12 hours plus the actual time taken for testing, the official said. This will serve as the defined standard operating procedure for clearance of cargo, an exercise that is being undertaken for the first time as the country looks to improve its ranking on the World Bank's doing business index.

At present, clearance of import consignments containing food items could take more than 10-15 days depending on the port. Some ports even lack well-equipped labs, leading to further delays.

The CBEC has created a national level customs clearance facilitation committee as also local committees at local ports, chaired by customs chief commissioner having representatives from these organisations as members, for immediate redressal of any issue that crops up during clearance.

What if the consignment fails safety test?

The national food safety regulator has laid down detailed recall procedures for food companies and said it will be mandatory for every firm to have a detailed recall plan ready and to comply with recall orders, confirms another news report by The Economic Times. If any company refuses to act on a recall order, then the concerned food authorities can take appropriate action, the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has written to food business operators.

"The food business operator shall be liable for violation (of a recall order)," said the note, which has sought suggestions and comments from companies. ET has reviewed a copy of the letter.

"A recall plan must be available in writing and shall be made available to the food authority on request. It shall also be a part of the annual audit of the food business," said the regulator that has ordered a number of recalls recently, including that of the popular instant noodles brand Maggi.

However, some industry insiders feel the regulator is acting a bit too hastily. "Before talking about recall procedures, the regulator should detail its own testing protocols and sample sizes, and allow for a suitable defence from the company," the CEO of a leading foods firm told the financial daily on condition of anonymity.

"Export oriented units also need to have a recall plan in place as there may be food products that can be directed to local consumers in India," it said, adding that food imported into the country will be checked by port authorities.

(Image: Reuters)