New Delhi: More than 3,270 tonnes of food products worth an estimated Rs 81.80 crore were seized in an intensive nationwide inspection drive from September 1 to November 5 by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
More than 1,100 licences were cancelled by the regulatory body during this period.
FSSAI, in a series of posts on X, said it had inspected 56,431 establishments and issued 10,047 improvement notices as part of the enforcement drive held across states and Union Territories in collaboration with state food safety authorities.
It also collected 43,939 samples, of which 23,648 had been analysed. Out of these analysed samples, 2,273 were found to be non-compliant with prescribed food safety standards. The seized food products that were found to be non-compliant with safety standards included oils, milk, paneer, sweets, ghee, bakery items, chocolates, ice cream, namkeen, packaged food and festive hampers, Hindustan Times reported.
It had suspended 1,133 licences and cancelled the permits of 52 food establishments, the FSSAI said, highlighting the scale of the operation. It also sealed 314 establishments and initiated 410 prosecutions.
“Through rigorous checks on over 56,000 food establishments, authorities took decisive action against substandard practices, issuing over 10,000 improvement notices and suspending more than 1,100 licences to maintain uncompromising safety standards,” the Authority said.
It would continue working with state food safety authorities to ensure “greater adherence to prescribed food safety standards across the food ecosystem”, the regulator said.
The FSSAI has stepped up its crackdown on food safety violations this year by investigating multiple eateries and e-commerce companies.
It had earlier banned the sale of Nestle’s “Low Fat Dairy Whitener” after a sample of the product taken from The Lalit hotel in New Delhi’s Connaught Place was declared to be “unsafe” and “substandard”.
The disclosures highlight the scale of action taken during the festive season, with FSSAI expected to continue inspections and monitoring to ensure businesses follow food safety regulations.
The FSSAI had earlier issued a directive to food safety authorities across all states and Union Territories to step up surveillance and enforcement actions against unsafe food products ahead of the festive season. This directive was aimed at curbing the circulation of “adulterated, counterfeited and unsafe food products”.
