HYDERABAD: In the last three years penalty was imposed in less than 10 per cent of the cases wherein sub-standard or unsafe food samples were detected by the food safety officials in Telangana, making it one of the top 10 states which are lackadaisical in enforcing food safety laws.
Between 2016-17 to 2018-19, 673 food samples were found to be non-confirming to food safety standards in the State but penalties were imposed in only 54 cases, which is around eight per cent.
Replying to a question in Lok Sabha on Friday regarding enforcement of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and cases registered under it, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey presented data according to which in 2018-19 although 168 food samples were found non-conforming to food standards, only in 17 cases penalties were imposed. Similarly in 2017-18, 20 out of 175 cases and in 2016-17, 17 out of 330 cases were penalised.
As per the data, in 2018-19, the food safety authorities in Telangana registered 33 criminal cases and 191 civil cases for violation of food safety laws but convictions were issued in just three cases.
In 2017-18, 25 criminal cases and 15 civil cases were registered whereas only one conviction was achieved and in 2016-17, 103 criminal cases and 85 civil cases were registered but convictions were given in only 15 cases.
Telangana was identified as one of the ten poorly performing states in-country in the enforcement of food safety laws by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in its 2018-19 report on food safety enforcement.
Speaking to Express, a food safety official said, “When offence is related to labelling, penalty is issued immediately but when it comes to food samples not confirming to standards, the process is time consuming. Food safety lab delivers test results within 14 days but the complaint is processed by higher officials including Commissioner of Food Safety, then either Joint Collector or District Collector depending upon the type of case, which takes time.”