AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government's statewide ban on the production, storage, sale and transportation of analogue paneer, cheese and butter has highlighted wider concerns over food safety in the state. While the ban followed laboratory findings that the products failed to meet prescribed standards, Union Health Ministry data points to persistent food adulteration, weak enforcement and a shortage of Food Safety Officers.
According to the data, Gujarat tested 68,356 food samples between 2021-22 and the provisional 2025-26 period. Of these, 4,437 samples failed to meet food safety standards, translating into a failure rate of around 6.5 per cent. This means nearly one in every 13 food samples tested was found to be non-conforming.
Despite being among the leading states in food sample testing, Gujarat has not seen a significant decline in the proportion of unsafe food. The number of samples tested peaked at 15,841 in 2023-24 before falling to 12,387 in 2024-25 and 11,903 in the provisional 2025-26 period. However, the number of non-conforming samples remained between 824 and 978 every year.
The non-conforming sample rate was 6.03 per cent in 2021-22, 6.72 per cent in 2022-23, 5.74 per cent in 2023-24, 7.27 per cent in 2024-25 and 6.92 per cent in the provisional 2025-26 period, indicating that food adulteration continues to remain a challenge.
Authorities increased enforcement during the period, with civil penalties rising from 668 cases in 2021-22 to 1,701 in 2023-24 before falling to 859 in 2024-25 and 842 in the provisional 2025-26 period.
However, prosecution figures show that Gujarat secured only 259 convictions despite identifying more than 4,400 non-conforming food samples during the five-year period. Convictions rose from 14 in 2021-22 to 91 in 2024-25 before declining to 65 in the provisional 2025-26 period.
The data also highlights a shortage of Food Safety Officers. Gujarat has 306 sanctioned posts, but only 162 are filled, leaving 144 vacancies. Nearly 47 per cent of the frontline workforce remains vacant, raising concerns over the state's ability to conduct inspections, investigations and legal proceedings.
At the same time, Gujarat has 21 notified food testing laboratories, including six state government laboratories, three FSSAI laboratories, 10 NABL-accredited private laboratories and two referral laboratories, indicating that testing infrastructure is stronger than field enforcement.
The Union Health Ministry said around 98 per cent of food business operators fall under the jurisdiction of state governments, making them responsible for inspections, surveillance, sampling and prosecution under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The ministry also said food analysts are required to submit laboratory reports within 14 days, while FSSAI currently recognises 259 NABL-accredited laboratories and 24 referral laboratories across the country.
The data indicates that while Gujarat has expanded its testing capacity, enforcement continues to face challenges due to limited manpower and low conviction rates, even as the state steps up action against food adulteration.
