Steps taken by government to stop food adulteration
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PREVENTION OF
FOOD ADULTERATION, ACT 1954
A. OBJECTIVE:
1. To protect the public from poisonous and harmful foods.2To prevent the sale of substandard foods.3To protect the interests of the consumers by eliminating fraudulent practices.
Meaning of Adulterant: Any material which is or could be employed for the purposes of adulteration
Definition of Food: any article used as food or drink for human consumption other than drugs and water and includes
a.Any article which ordinarily enters into or is used in the composition or preparation of human food.b.Any flavouring matter or condiments and.c.Any other article which the Central Government may having regard to its use, nature, substance or quality, declare, by notification in the official gazette as food for the purpose of this Act.
B Concept of Adulteration:-
An article of food shall be deemed to be adulterated:
If the article sold by vendor is not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser If the article contains any other substance which affects the substance or quality thereof.If any inferior or cheaper substance has been substituted wholly or in part for the article so as to affect the nature, substance or quality of the product If any constituent of the article has been wholly or in part extracted to affect the quality thereof If the article has been prepared, packed or kept under unsanitary conditions where by it has become contaminated or injurious to health If the article consists wholly or in part of any filthy, putrefied, rotten decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance or is insect-infested or is otherwise unfit for human consumption If the article is obtained from a diseased animal If the article contains any poisonous or other ingredient which renders it injurious to health If the container of the article is composed, whether, wholly or in part of any poisonous or deleterious substance which renders sits contents injurious to health If any colouring matter other than that prescribed in respect thereof is present in the article or if the amounts of the prescribed colouring matter which is present in the article are not within the prescribed limits If the article contains any prohibited preservative or permitted preservative in excess of the prescribed limits If the quality or purity of the Article falls below the prescribed limits of variability which renders it injurious to health If the quality or purity of the article falls below the prescribed standard or its constituents are present in quantities not within the prescribed limits of variability which renders it injurious to health
C.SALE OF CERTAIN ADMIXTURES PROHIBITED
Sale by himself or by his servant or agent is prohibited in case of :-
cream which has not been prepared exclusively from milk or which contains less than 25% of milk fat milk which containts added water ghee which contains any added matter not exclusively derived from milk fat selling skimmed milk as whole milk mixture of two or more edible oils as an edible oil vanaspati to which ghee or any other substance has been added any article of food which contains any artificial sweetener beyond the prescribed limit turmeric containing any foreign substance mixture of coffee and other substance except chicory dahi or curd not made out of milk milk or milk products containing constituents other than of milkD. PROCEDURE FOR SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS
Any food Inspector can enter and inspect any place where any article of food is manufactured or stored for sale or stored for the manufacture of any other article of food for sale or exposed or exhibited for sale or where any adulterant is manufactured or kept and take samples of such article of food or adulterant for analysis.
notice will be issued by the Inspector in writing then and there to the seller indicating his intention three samples are taken and the signature of the seller is affixed to them one sample is sent for analysis to Public Analyst under intimation to the Local Health Authority The other two samples are sent to the local health authority for further referenceE . PENALTIES
Guilt will be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months and upto 3 years and with fine upto one thousand rupees
F . IMPORTANT MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
If any extraneous additions of colouring matter is added, the same should be indicated on the labels From the labels the blending composition of ingredients should be clear to the customer Sale of kesari gram individually or as an admixture is prohibited Prohibition of use of carbide (acetylene) gas in ripening is prohibited Sale of ghee with Reichert value less than the permitted levelSale of admixture of ghee or butter is prohibited Addition of artificial sweetener should be mentioned on the label Sale of food colours without license prohibited Sale of insect damaged dry fruits and nuts prohibited Food prepared in rusted containers, chipped enamel containers and untinned