NewzVille Desk
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today stated that Delhi Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is mandated to lay 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.
He informed that, the implementation and enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 is a shared responsibility between the Central and State Governments.
While the FSSAI, is responsible for laying down science-based standards and ensuring overall coordination, the State Food Safety Authorities are primarily responsible for enforcement at the field level.
Designated officers (DOs) and Food Safety Officers (FSOs) under the Commissioner of Food safety in the States/UTs are entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of FSS Act, 2006.
The minister said that surveillance drives, monitoring, regulatory inspection and random sampling of various food products including milk, ghee, spices, honey, paneer and other foods conducted throughout the year by the officials of Food Safety Departments of the respective States/UTs and Regional Offices of FSSAI to check compliance with the quality and safety parameters and other requirements as laid down under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Regulations made thereunder.
