Large Scale Food Adulteration: Madras High Court Issues Directions For Food Safety Commissioner To Spread Awareness And Take Swift Action

Despite the submission of respondent authorities asserting that they have been taking swift action, large scale adulteration is on the rise, Justice S.M Subramaniam noted.

"The authorities submit that they have been conducting routine inspections and taking actions against the traders. However, there is no sign of reduction in adulteration, on the contrary, this practise is on the rise. Therefore, a combined method of creating awareness among the consumers, conducting regular inspections, and prosecuting them immediately under the Act and Regulations is more important to bring down the number of offenders."

The Madras High Court had also suo motu impleaded the Commissioner of Food Safety for the limited purpose of implementing the court's directions on creating awareness about food adulteration.

"The Commissioner of Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department is directed to issue directions to all traders, shops and food business operators to display the WhatsApp Numbers of concerned authorities for registering Complaints on identification of adulteration in front of the respective establishments in a visible manner. The Food Safety Commissioner, for this purpose, is directed to sensitise the Commissionerate so as to ensure swift action on complaints and commence prosecution under the Act & Rules. The Commissioner is also directed to ensure that the Food Safety Officers conduct frequent inspections of variety of food products, test them in the laboratories and ensure that food adulteration is prevented.", it was instructed in today's order.

While pronouncing the order, the court also mentioned that every aggrieved consumer wouldn't opt to make a complaint on their own, and it necessitated interference by the food safety department to alleviate the health concerns adulteration would result in.

"Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the Right to Health; In order to preserve the right to life, adulteration of food products must be minimal. Large scale adulteration will cause chronic diseases among the public. Thus, the authority is bound to bear in their mind that it is their constitutional duty to ensure the safety of public and remain vigilant.", the court clarified.

"Displaying Contact numbers of concerned authorities in malls, commercial places and other shops as well as spreading awareness through visual media, press and publications is important. Food Safety Act & Rules are comprehensive. They specify guidelines for every food product. It is therefore not difficult for the Department to conduct inspections and test the samples in their labs for ascertaining if the statutory provisions have been violated or not", the court added.

Since the petitioner had already paid the fine for his violation, the writ petition was disposed off without any grant of relief to the offender challenging the order of respondent authorities.

When the matter was taken up for hearing on 8^th December, the court had asked The Food Safety Commissioner to depute any responsible official to be present before the Court today so as to find out the standardisation of raw Dhania and powder Dhania to be sold in the market. Additional Government Pleader M.Rajendiran was accordingly directed to inform the same to Commissioner.

Today, Justice S.M. Subramaniam noted that the respective officers were present before the court. The bench noted that there might be over 180 food safety officers across the state and then enquired how many prosecutions were launched on food adulteration complaints in 2021. The Additional Government Pleader informed that prosecutions have been initiated in 21 cases in 2021 and the adjudication processes in over 500 cases are under progress.

With regards to adulteration of Dhaniya Whole (Coriander), which was the subject matter of the writ petition filed by the petitioner, the court observed that Dhaniya was one of the inevitable items used in South Indian households and the large-scale adulteration in a commodity of that nature was concerning.

Moving forward, the court opined that the food safety officers must focus on their inspections and collection of samples from the factories itself since the shops usually will have consolidated the same item from multiple sellers.

Wide publications for creating awareness in food adulteration must be made just like in the issue of Vaccination. Very few people will visit websites. Awareness must be carried out in schools, colleges and market places, along with advertisements in visual and press media, the court added.

In the present case of adulteration, the report submitted in the aftermath of lab tests suggested that Sulphur Dioxide content was found in the quantity of 574 ppm (parts per million) while the permissible level was 150 ppm. Similarly, total colour content was found to be in the range of 48 ppm which is not permitted as per the rules and regulations. Additionally, the report also indicated 16.7 per cent moisture while the permissible moisture content is 5 per cent.

The samples of Dhaniya whole were seized from the petitioner on 20^th August, 2018, tested in laboratory and deemed as unsafe food for consumption. The petitioner approached the court contending that they were using only permissible levels of preservatives and colours for the processing of raw Dhania.

"The file should not have been closed. These amounts are much above the permissible limit. Mere fine alone wouldn't have sufficed" the court remarked while mentioning that the respondent authorities are part of a new department under the 2006 Act, and therefore, they should be more proactive in nabbing the offenders.

Case Title: K. Manohar v. The Designating Officer & Anr.

Case No: WP/40341/2015 (Gen. Misc.)

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