SOCIO –ECONOMIC OFFENCES

-TOPIC-
Prevention of Food Adulteration.

Submitted By : VAISHALI KAMRA (BA.LLB, Sec-A) 9th Sem.

Enrollment no. : 10051103815
Submitted To : Ms. Ayushi Sharma

1 |Page
HEADINGS OF FOOD ADULTERATION Page no.

INTRODUCTION 3

MEANING 4

FOOD ADULTERATION – A THREAT TO CONSUMER 5

FOOD ADULTERATION & LEGAL REGIME IN INDIA 6

CENTRAL LEGISLATION ON FOOD ADULTERATION 7-8

(i) The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954
(ii) The Food Safety and Standards act, 2006

PENALTIES 9-10

CONCLUSION 11

2 |Page
 INTRODUCTION
Food is one of the basic necessities of sustenance of life. It is no wonder to say
that community health is national wealth. The dependence on food grew manifold
with the rapid rise in global population and today its one of the major concerns
for many of the countries, especially the developing and under developed
countries to meet the food demand of its population. Consumer is the largest
economic group and central point of all marketing activities. With the rise in
income of people, the quality, quantity of the consumer goods has also increased.
The market is literally overflowing with the new products based on intricate
technology. It is very difficult for the consumer to select the one food item
because of mislead advertisements, Improper media emphasis, and food
adulteration. “Knowledge and awareness about adulterated foods, laws and its
rights related to them is crucial in a society where the technology heightens
opportunities for perpetrators of fraud deception and misrepresentation”.
"Adulteration" is a legal term meaning that a food product fails to meet federal or
state standards. Adulteration is an addition of another substance to a food item in
order to increase the quantity of the food item in raw form or prepared form,
which may result in the loss of actual quality of food item. These substances may
be other available food items or non-food items. Among meat and meat products
some of the items used to adulterate are water or ice, carcasses, or carcasses of
animals other than the animal meant to be consumed.
“Adulterant” means any material which is or could be employed for making the
food unsafe or sub-standard or mis-branded or containing extraneous matter;
Food is adulterated if its quality is lowered or affected by the addition of
substances which are injurious to health or by the removal of substances which
are nutritious. It is defined as the act of intentionally debasing the quality of food
offered for sale either by the admixture or substitution of inferior substances or
by the removal of some.

3 |Page
 What is adulteration?

An adulterant is a chemical substance which should not be contained within other

substances (e.g. food, beverages, and fuels) for legal or other reasons. The
addition of adulterants is called adulteration. The word is appropriate only when
the additions are unwanted by the recipient. Otherwise the expression would be
food additive. Adulterants when used in illicit drugs are called cutting agents,
while deliberate addition of toxic adulterants to food or other products for human
consumption is known as poison.

Adulteration in water
Water that has been adequately chlorinated, by using the minimum recommended
water treatment standard provide protection against viral and bacterial waterborne
diseases. However, chlorine treatment alone, as used in the routine disinfection
of water, might not kill some enteric viruses and the parasitic organisms that cause
giardiasis, amoebiasis, and cryptosporidiosis. In areas where chlorinated tap
water is not available or where hygiene and sanitation are poor, one is advised
that only the following might be safe to drink: Beverages, such as tea and coffee,
made with boiled water the safety of canned or bottled carbonated beverages,
including carbonated bottled water and soft drinks is questionable nowadays.
Where water might be contaminated, one is advised that ice should also be
considered contaminated and should not be used in beverages. If ice has been in
contact with containers used for drinking, one should thoroughly clean the
containers, preferably with soap and hot water, after the ice has been discarded.

4 |Page
 Food Adulteration –A Threat to Consumers
One is familiar with the famous saying of one of the past prime ministers of India
describing corruption as universal and not confined to India. Same appears to be
true with food adulteration also. It is surprising that the fraudsters are always one
step ahead of the safety agencies when it comes to detecting adulteration and their
techniques are increasingly becoming more and more sophisticated with time.
Foodfrauds literally constitute a high tech industry because of the enormous
economic gains inherent in adulteration. Interestingly costlier the food product,
more incentive is available for evolving appropriate methods to mimic the
original product with cheap alternatives.Here is a gist of the report that elaborates
on economic frauds perpetrated in the US based on reliable data base. "Olive oil,
milk, honey, saffron, orange juice, coffee and apple juice are the seven most likely
food ingredients to be targets for intentional or economically motivated
adulteration of food, or food fraud, according to analysis of the first U.S. public
database created to compile information on risk factors for food fraud published
in the Journal of Food Science. The database was created by the U.S.
Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) and provides baseline information to assist
interested parties in assessing the risks of specific products. It includes a total of
1,305 records for food fraud based on a total of 667 scholarly, media and other
publicly available reports. Food fraud is a collective term that encompasses the
deliberate substitution, addition, tampering or misrepresentation of food, food
ingredients or food packaging, or false or misleading statements made about a
product for economic gain. A more specific type of fraud is the fraudulent
addition of non-authentic substances or removal or replacement of authentic
substances without the purchaser's knowledge for economic gain of the seller.
According to the authors of the paper, food fraud may be more risky than
traditional threats to the food supply because the adulterants used in these
activities often are unconventional and designed to avoid detection through
routine analyses. "The vast majority of food fraud is primarily technical and
economical," said John Spink, associate director with the anticounterfeiting and
product protection program at Michigan State University. "However, there are
some cases where there can be serious health consequences as illustrated when
melamine was added to infant formula and pet food in order to falsify the level
of protein content in these products.

5 |Page
 FOOD ADULTERATION & LEGAL REGIME IN INDIA

“Maintenance and improvement of public health have to rank high as this is

indispensable to the very physical existence of the community and on the
betterment of these depends the building up the society which the constitution
maker envisaged, attending to public health, in our opinion, therefore is of high
priority, perhaps the one at the top”. The state parties to the present covenant
recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard
of physical and mental health.
Article 21 of Indian Constitution guarantees the right to live with the dignity.
The right to live with the human dignity denies the life breach from the DPSP,
particularly clauses (e) and (f) of Article 39 with Article 47 of the Indian
Constitution. It has been help in no. of cases that life is more than mere animal
existence. Right to food is a fundamental right under Article 21 and similarly,
right to health is also a part of right to life. The provisions of the Acts (Food
Adulteration law) and properly and effectively implemented so that the state can
achieve an appropriate level of human life and health, safeguarding the right to
life guaranteed under Article 21of Indian Constitution.
The adulteration of food with an intention to sell is an offence under sections 272,
273 of India Penal Code, 1860 which is Punishable with the Imprisonment of
six Months and Fine. The act is punishable when adulteration makes the food
article noxious. Mixture of pig fat with ghee would be noxious to the religion and
social feeling of both Hindu and Muslims, still it does comes under this section
(as it is not noxious to health). The selling of wheat containing a large admixture
of extraneous matters, as foreign matter is separable and wheat is not consumed
in its existing condition. Similarly, the mixture of water with milk is no offence,
as the mixture is not noxious.
Under the Code of Criminal Procedure the offence is non-cognizable and
bailable and not compoundable. According to section 455(2) of Cr.P.C, 1973,
the court may, on conviction under section 272 and 273 of IPC, order the food,
drink...etc. In respect of which conviction was made, to be destroyed. Any person
committing the offence is prosecuted by the state, but the consumer who was to
victim of adulteration hardly gets any relief under the IPC.
Food must not contain any added poisonous substance that may render it injurious
to health unless the added substance is required or cannot be avoided by good
manufacturing practice and a safe level has been established: any food that does
not meet these condition is considered adulterated.

6 |Page
 CENTRAL LEGISLATION ON FOOD ADULTERATION
Laws existed in no. of states in India for the prevention of food adulteration of
Food-Stuffs, but they lacked uniformity having been passed at different times
without mutual consultation between states. The need for central legislation for
the whole country in this matter has been felt since 1937 when a committee
appointed by the Central Advisory Board of health recommended this step.
‘Adulteration of food-stuffs and other goods’ is now included in the entry 18
concurrent list (III) in the constitution of India.

The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954

A very important step towards the addressing of the problem of food adulteration
was done in the year 1954 by enacting a central legislation on the subject keeping
in view the limits of the penal code. For example, it does not cover the mixing of
the substances that are not noxious as water in milk and stone and inferior quality
grains in pulses. Moreover, it requires proving mens rea. The Act provides for
strict liability and at the same time condition of adulterated food to be ‘noxious’
is done away with.
CASE: In Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Surja Ram
The object and the purpose of the Act are to eliminate the dangers to human life
from sale of unwholesome article of food...it is enacted to curb the widespread
evil of food adulteration and is legislative measure for social defence. It is
intended to suppress a socio-economic mischief, an evil that attempts to poison,
for monetary gains, a very source of substance of life and wellbeing of the
community.
CASE: Maggi Noodles Case
The Maggi imbroglio escalated to an unprecedented level with India’s food
regulator food safety and standard authority of India (FSSAI) ordering a total
recall of nine variants of the bestselling instant noodles brand. This is the first
ever recall of a popular food product in India. The Nestlé’s Maggi noodles were
banned across states after samples of it were found to contain excess amount of
lead and MSG- a flavour enhancer. The dispute has placed the processed food
industry, regulators, government, and even consumers in uncharted territory.

7 |Page
 The Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006
The Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 is a comprehensive legislation dealing
with various aspects with respect to the regulation of food safety. The provisions
under the Act can be divided into various heads.
Establishment of various authorities and their responsibilities
The FSSA establishes various authorities for the effective implementation of the
provisions of the Act.
Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) is established under Section
4 of the Act. It is the most important authority which supervises and regulates
food safety and standards.
 The Act provides that its head office shall be in Delhi. Moreover, it can
also establish offices in any other place.
 FSSAI is a body corporate having perpetual succession, common seal and
the right to own and dispose of property in its own name. Like any other
body corporate, it can sue and be sued in its own name.
 It consists of a chairperson and 22 members selected by a Selection
Committee constituted by the Central Government.
 The Act also provides for the appointment of Chief Executive Officer by
the Central Government. He is the legal representative of the Food
Authority.
The Act provides that the Food Authority shall establish various other
authorities.
 A Central Advisory Committee for ensuring cooperation between the Food
Authority and the enforcement agencies.
 Scientific Panels in order to deliberate on certain matters in consultation
with representatives of the concerned industry along with consumer
representatives.
 Scientific Committee to advice the Food Authority on various issues by
giving their scientific opinion.
The Act empowers the State Government to appoint a Commissioner of Food
Safety for the State for effective implementation of the provisions at the State
level.
 The Commissioner of Food Safety is given the authority to appoint a
Designated Officer for each district.
 The Commissioner is also empowered to appoint Food Safety Officers.

8 |Page
 Offences and Penalties

Section 48 lays down the provision of offences. It provides the circumstances

where a person shall be liable for rendering any food item injurious by the various
means such as adding to it an article or substance or removing certain elements
from the food which results in deterioration of its quality. FSSA provides for
penalties and punishments for contravening the provisions of the Act.

The Act consists of a comprehensive list of offences in which the penalties

shall be imposed.

 A penalty for selling of food which is not of the quality as per the
regulations under the Act. The penalty, in this case, shall not exceed five
lakh rupees.
 A penalty for manufacturing for sale, storing, selling, distributing,
importing food of sub-standard quality which may extend to five lakh
rupees.
 A penalty for manufacturing for sale storing, selling, distributing or
importing misbranded food products which may extend to three lakh
rupees.
 The Act prohibits misleading or deceptive advertisements and there is a
penalty for the same which may extend to ten lakh rupees.
 A penalty is also prescribed for manufacturing, storing, selling, distributing
or importing a food product containing extraneous material and such
penalty may extend to one lakh rupees.
 The Act imposes a penalty on the food business operator or importer who
fails to comply with the provisions of the Act which may extend to two
lakh rupees.
 There is a penalty which may extend to one lakh rupees for manufacturing
or processing food in unhygienic or unhealthy conditions.
 The Act also imposes a penalty for the possession of adulterant.
 Further, the Act also lays down that if no separate penalty is provided and
an act is in contravention to the provisions or regulations of the Act, then
a penalty shall be imposed which may extend to two lakh rupees.

9 |Page
Apart from penalties, there are punishments too which are laid down in the
Act. The term of imprisonment differs according to different categories.

 Manufacturing for sale or storing or selling or distributing or

importing food which is unsafe is punishable under the Act.
 The Food Safety Officer may seize food products and a person who
interferes with such seized items is liable for punishment.
 There is punishment for providing false or misleading information.
 Punishment is also laid down for obstructing or impersonating a
Food Safety Officer.
 The Act provides for compulsory obtaining of license with the
exception in a few cases and a case of non-compliance is punishable
under the Act.
 There is a provision for punishment in case of subsequent offences
under the Act.

Apart from penalty and punishment, the person contravening the provisions of
the Act may also be held liable to pay compensation to the victim or the legal
representative of the victim if such contravention has led to death or injury.

10 | P a g e
 CONCLUSION
The preamble of PFA laid emphasis only on provisions for prevention of food
adulteration. FSSA lays emphasis on consolidating the laws related to food and
to establish FSSAI for laying 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 and for matters
connected with them. The new objectives clearly go far beyond the objectives of
PFA. The strict penalties imposed in FSSA may lead to increase in corruption, as
enterprises may resort to unfair practices to avoid these penalties.
The PFA dealt with countless Government ministries handling different food
sectors as per separate orders, like the fruit products order, and other orders
related to vegetable oil products, edible oils packaging, milk and milk products
and meat food products, which were issued at different points of time and were
sometimes overlapping and inconsistent. On the other hand, a unified act like
FSSA enables unidirectional compliance. The administrative control of the FSSA
has been assigned to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare thereby
establishing a single reference point for all matters and eradicating any possibility
of multiplicity of orders or the chance that any coordination problems are caused.
Apart from the harmonization of laws relating to food quality and standards with
established international norms, FSSA aims at regulating food hygiene and safety
laws in the country in order to systematically and scientifically develop the food
industry. Thus, the food processing industry may see FSSA as a mixed blessing
but the practical application of this legislation, being at its nascent stage, will
require some time to come into full force.

11 | P a g e