Parliament Question: Sale of Adulterated and Artificial Products

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 3227 TO BE ANSWERED ON07THAUGUST, 2026 SALE OFADULTERATED AND ARTIFICIALPRODUCTS †3227. DR. BHOLASINGH:

Will the Ministerof HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate:

(a) whether the Government has made any arrangement for market monitoring with a view and grievance redressal with a view to protect consumers against the sale of adulterated, artificial or counterfeit products in the name of milk, paneer, khoa and other dairy products, if so, the details thereof;

(b) the number of consumer complaints received regarding the sale of such products during the last three years along with the action taken by the Government thereon, State/UT-wise;

(c) the action taken by the Government against sellers/manufacturers for marketing artificial adulterated or adulterated products as pure dairy products or for resorting to misleading labelling or advertisements, if so, the details thereof;

(d) the provisions for taking stringent action against traders who repeatedly indulge in such acts; and

(e) the steps taken by the Government to create awareness amongconsumers for identifying such productsand toensure the availability of pure dairy productsin the market? ANSWER THE MINISTEROFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) to (e): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is mandated to lay down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. The implementation and enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006isa shared responsibility between the Central andStateGovernments.FSSAI has established a robust consumer grievance redressal mechanism for addressing food safety related complaints. Complaints/concerns of consumers and Food Business Operators (FBO) are received through various channels such as Web portal, Mobile App, FSSAI Helpline, State helpline, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Complaints on Food Safety Connect Portal ispart of the online FoodSafetyCompliance System(FoSCoS). Detailsof the

consumer grievancesfor the last three yearsfor milkandmilkproductsare asunder:

2023-24 2024-25 2025-26* GrievancesReceived 356 531 846 GrievancesResolved 334 488 635 GrievancesPending 22 43 211 (with StatesandUTs) *Data isprovisional.

Around 98% of the Food Business Operators (FBOs) fall within the jurisdiction of the State/UT Food Safety Authorities. For compliance with the standards, limits, and other statutory requirements prescribed under the FSS Act, 2006 & rules / regulations made thereunder, the State Food Safety Authorities undertake surveillance, monitoring, targeted enforcementdrives, inspections, andsampling activitiesacross the food sector.

Any deviation from the prescribed standards or violationof the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Regulation (FSSR), when detected, results in stringent regulatory and punitive action against the non-compliant FBOs in accordance with the FSS Act, 2006 & rules / regulations made thereunder, including suspension & cancellation of licence, prohibition on sale, seizure & destruction of non-compliant food articles and judicial action through adjudication (civil) and prosecution (criminal) as per the provisions outlined in the FSSAct, 2006.

FSSAI has framed the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulation,2018,toaddressissuesrelatedtomisleadingclaims, labellingandadvertisements.

These regulations have under laid clear specifications for making claims on food businesses.

This regulation stipulates that food-related advertisements and claims are accurate, non- deceptive,and alignwith food safety standards. It isthe responsibility of the food business to adhere with these requirements. Details of the action taken against the defaulting Food Business Operators for non-complianceinthe last 3yearsisasfollows:- Civil Cases CriminalCases No. of No. of Samples Year Samples found non- Decidedwith No. of Analysed conforming Penalty Convictions *2025-26 223,808 40023 31878 1918 2024-25 170535 34388 30142 1265 2023-24 170513 33808 29586 1161 *Thedatafor FY2025–26 isprovisional.

FSSAIhastakenfollowing measure tocurbadulterationinthe food products:- FSSAI has launched various campaigns such as “#No To Adulteration” to raise consumer awareness about food adulteration.These initiativesinclude advertisements, educationalmaterials, andonline platformstospread awareness.

 Videos “How to Check for Adulteration” on its official YouTube channel, which include short videos demonstrating methods to detect adulteration in various food items, including milk and milk products, edible oil etc. These Information Education Communication(IEC) materials are availableinregionallanguages too.

 FSSAI is also carrying out an awareness campaign, "#HarLabelKuchKahtaHai", to empower citizens with label literacy for healthier eating and informed choices. This initiative educates consumers on key elements like nutritional information (calories, fats, sugars, protein),ingredientlists, allergen warnings, anddate markings  Advanced, easy to use Rapid Analytical Food Testing (RAPID) Kits are portable and handheld devices. The Kits do not require any sophisticated equipment or conventionalreagentsto conductonthe spot tests at fields.

 Food Safety Magic Boxes, facilitates the detection of adulteration in food. It consists of reliable "quick screening tests" thata common person canperform at the household level. It consists of a total of 107 tests across 06 food categories which include detection of adulterants like starch, urea, detergent, cellulose, maltodextrin salicylic acid,glucose etc.

 Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test (DART) Booklet coversmore than 44quick tests for different categories of foods such as milk & milk products, oils & fats, sugars & confectionery, food grains and their products, spices & condiments to detect adulteration.

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