Amid all the buzz and excitement of the festive season, there are growing concerns over a sharp spike in adulteration incidents. In the wake of the rise in consumption of sweets, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to direct around 4,000-odd state-level officers to check possible adulteration in festive sweets across the country.
This is the time when sweet and dairy consumption in India spikes creating a huge demand in the market which leads to illegal forms of actions by the sweet producing ventures. The CEO of FSSAI Kamala Vardhana Rao said in a media conference, “Usually, consumption of sweets goes up during Diwali festival. We have directed our officers in the states and Union territories to intensify the surveillance of sweets to check on adulteration,” addressing the issue.
As per the inspection orders the State food safety officials will be inspecting shops and collecting samples from various shops to classify the quality of the food. According to FSSAI, the food is classified in four categories including, Compliance, Non-compliance, Partial compliance, and Not applicable/Not observed. Steps will be taken against those who have been found to be non-compliant with quality norms as per the CEO Rao.
Additionally, Rao stated that a national survey is being conducted by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and the Quality Council of India to assess the quality of milk and milk products. The survey is expected to conclude within a month where they will be assessing over 10,000 food samples across the country.
Along with the dairy product inspection, the authorities have decided to increase the number of surveillance samples from 1 lakh in 2023 to 7 lakh in next year. The grading system of FSSAI reports that the inspection checklist comprises food safety observations for which Food Safety Officers will assign grades. The FBOs will be assessed as A+, A, and so on based on their performance. To assist Food Safety Officers in conducting inspections, a marking and grading structure has been established.
