Food adulteration cases doubles in last 8 years: FSSAI

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has made a big disclosure in its annual report on food adulteration. It says that cases of adulteration in food have doubled in the last 8 years. In the year 2012-12 conducted by FSSAI, 15% food samples were adulterated, while in the year 2018-19 it has increased to more than 28%. In its annual report, the FSSAI stated that 28.56% of the food samples examined by it in the year 2018-19 have either been adulterated or are of poor quality. The FSSAI said that out of 1,06,459 food samples tested by NABL, 28.56% of the samples were adulterated.

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According to the FSSAI report, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand occupy the top among the states where food adulteration has been the highest in the last three years. At the same time, the least adulteration in food has been found in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Uttarakhand. In the year 2018-19, 52.32% adulteration was seen in the collected sample from Uttar Pradesh, 45.39% in Tamil Nadu and 41.68% in Jharkhand. At the same time, adulteration was found only 3.78% in the collected sample from Arunachal Pradesh, 4.63% in Uttarakhand and 5.67% in the collect food sample from Goa.

Penalty collection increased

Penalty increased to Rs 32,57 croreIt is worth noting that every year FSSAI officials collect food samples from all the states, which include milk, spices, water and packed food. In the year 2018-19, the penalty for adulteration of food items has also increased to Rs 32,57 crore. Whereas, in 2017-18 it was Rs 26.35 crore. The FSSAI has asked all state governments to strictly prohibit adulteration in food.