Socio‐economic Implications of Food Safety Standards in India

Abstract

Food safety issues have increasingly become priority for the consumers due allegiance to increasing income standards and awareness about food contamination. Developing country governments are paying attention to such demand and revising their food standards. Indian Government have consolidated the earlier food safety laws under one umbrella Act, namely Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), which was implemented in 2011. This paper critically reviews the socio‐economic implications of food contamination in India and the scope of FSSA in dealing with them. The analysis finds out that although the current framework is comprehensive, there are many loopholes in terms of implementation. For example, agricultural crop producers do not come under the ambit of current law. Street food vendors that are responsible for many food contamination incidents in the past are still not effectively monitored due to lack of qualified food safety officers. Food traceability system in India is still evolving and it is voluntary. There is a need for private‐public partnership to promote adoption of traceability system in the country. The paper suggests some ways forward for the effective implementation of the food safety Act in India.