Status of food safety and food security in India in the perspective of FSSAI
D. Dhara, Sarmistha Choudhury Biswas, Suman Kumar Das, O. Biswas
Abstract
Due to rapidly increasing urbanisation and population, India faces many challenges in its hunt for food safety and food security. Quality of food can be compromised at any point of food supply chain from farm to fork by using excessive pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones or exposure to toxic waste, etc. at the farm level and additives, chemicals, contaminants, environmental pollutants, adulterants, toxic colorants etc. at the processing level. Thus, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have been created to govern food regulatory compliance in India as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. In the last few years of its coming into force, FSSAI has done a lot of ground work for effective implementation of the new food safety regime. Yet, several challenges are required to be counteracted in order to strengthen the regulatory framework for robust enforcement of the FSS Act, 2006.