» The Prevention of Food Adulteration
Act & Rules
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act,1954
The Act was promulgated by Parliament in 1954 to make provision for the prevention
of adulteration of food, along with the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955
which was incorporated in 1955 as an extension to the Act. Broadly, the PFA Act
covers food standards, general procedures for sampling, analysis of food, powers
of authorized officers, nature of penalties and other parameters related to food.
It deals with parameters relating to food additives, preservative, colouring matters,
packing & labelling of foods, prohibition & regulations of sales etc. Like FPO,
amendment in PFA rules are incorporated with the recommendation made by the Central
Committee of Food Standards (CCFS) which has been setup by Central Government under the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare comprising members from different regions
of the country. The provisions of PFA Act and Rules are implemented by State Government
and local bodies as provided in the rules.
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 will be repealed from the date to be notified
by the Central Government as per the Food Safety and Standards Act,2006. Till that
date new standards are specified, the requirement and other provisions of the PFA
Act, 1954 and Rules, 1955 shall continue to be in force as a transitory provision
for food standards.
The PFA Division has contemplated the following draft Rules/Regulations for the
FSS Act, 2006, which are in the process of further scrutiny in consultation with
State Government. The draft regulations are relating to:-
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(i) Procedure for Licensing and Registration of Food Business Operators.
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(i) Operationalization of Food Safety and Standards Act by the State
Government.
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(iii) Draft Rules in pursuance to sub-section (b), (c), (e) & (f) of Section 91(2)
and sub-section (n), (q), (r ) & (s) of Section 92(2) of FSS Act, 2006 relating
to qualification of Food Safety Officer, qualification
of food analyst, manner of sending samples, functions of FSO, Procedure for getting
food analysed by purchaser, function and procedure
to be followed by food laboratories and other officials under Section 47.
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2. The following meetings were arranged during 2008-09:
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(i) Meeting of Central Committee for Food Standards held at New Delhi.
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(ii) One meeting of Food Additives and Contaminants Sub-Committee.
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(iii) Five meetings of Nutrition, Food for Special Dietary Uses, Infant
Foods Sub-Committee.
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(iv) Five meetings of Pesticide Residues Sub-Committee.
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(v) One meeting of Oils and Fats Sub-Committee.
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(vi) Five meetings of Expert Group to review the Method of Analysis of
Pesticide Residue in carbonated water.
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3. The following draft and final notifications for PFA Amendments were published:-
(a) Final Notifications:-
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(i) GSR No. 114(E) dated 28.02.2008 - Coating of waxes (shellac) in
fresh fruits.
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(ii) GSR No. 206(E) dated 25.03.2008 – Adoption of methods of analysis
prescribed in the manual of methods for analysis of food brought out by Ministry
of Health & Family Welfare.
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(iii) GSR No. 467(E) dated 18.06.2008 – Revision of B.R./I.R. value of
Olive oil.
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(iv) GSR No. 500(E) dated 05.07.2008 – Revision of standards of packaged
drinking water.
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(v) GSR No. 664(E) dated 19.09.2008 – Revision of labelling provision
of food articles.
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(vi) GSR No. 754(E) dated 27.10.2008 – Revision of standards of Rice
Bran Oil.
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(b) Draft Notifications:-
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(i) GSR No. 106(E) dated 25.02.2008 – Revision of standards of Rice
Bran Oil.
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(ii) GSR No. 208(E) dated 25.03.2008 – Revision of standards of milk
products allowing of some food additives including microbiological parameters and
revision of standards of chakka and shrikand.
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(iii) GSR No. 380(E) dated 15.05.2008 – Revision of labelling provisions
of food articles.
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(iv) GSR No. 498(E) dated 05.07.2008 – M.R.L.s of pesticide residues
in carbonated water.
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(v) GSR No. 524(E) dated 15.07.2008 – M.R.L.s of pesticide residues
in food articles.
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(vi) GSR No. 871(E) dated 23.12.2008 – Revision of standards of fruit
products.
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(vii) GSR No. 42(E) dated 22.01.2009 – Sale of food additives conforming
to Bureau of Indian Standards specifications.
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(viii) GSR No. 43(E) dated 22.01.2009 – Use of Polyols in food, SHMP
in fruit drinks/ fruit beverages and aspartame, acesulfame potassium and sucralose
in certain food articles.
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(ix) GSR No. 44(E) dated 22.01.2009 – To increase the quantity of samples
of certain food articles for analysis.
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Food Research & Standardisation Laboratory Ghaziabad
Food Research and Standardisation Laboratory, Ghaziabad was established in 1971
under Directorate General of Health Services / Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
to check the adulteration and to undertake analysis of food samples from market
for the purpose of determining their quality and purity.
This laboratory is working as Appellate Laboratory (Central Food Laboratory) under
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 to check the adulteration of food sample.
After WTO Agreement import of packaged and processed food has increased tremendously
in the country. Lot of new chemicals and food additives of varied nature in the
form of colors, preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers, stabilizers, anti-caking
agents artificial sweeteners, flavouring agents, sequestering and buffering agents
etc. are being used to certain limits in processed foods due to technological requirements
for their manufacturing and preservation to increase the shelf life and cosmetic
value of the food. Some of these food additives are toxic in nature and may be harmful
for human consumption, if used beyond a certain limit. To check the use of such
food additives in various food items they need to be examined regularly so that
such food items may not be dumped into India.
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CENTRAL FOOD LABORATORY, KOLKATA
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INTRODUCTION
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Central Food Laboratory, Kolkata was established in 1955 under Directorate General
of Health Services, Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi, vide letter no. PFA/Sec 4/F.11-4/55-D)
(I) dated. 1st June, 1995 spare of ministry of Health & Family Welfare, New Delhi
to undertake analysis of food samples from trying courts from all over the country
and from market to determine the quality and purity of the food to lay down standards
for food Articles. Initially the Central Food Laboratory was established in the
premises of All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, C.R. Avenue, Calcutta-700012.
Afterwards it was shifted to its own building situated at 3, KYD Street, Kolkata-700016.
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, which strives to ensure that quality and safety
of food, both domestic and imported. There had been constant conscious effort to
make the laboratory a Centre of Excellence by all standards. To achieve this, the
process of Accreditation from NABL had been initiated and application submitted
to the concerned authority for final assessment.
1. Analytical services: Thousands of legal and investigational
samples were analyzed and reported within stipulated time prescribed under PFA rules,
1955.
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Year |
Sources of food samples |
Samples received |
Samples analysed |
Found adulterated |
% adulteration |
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2001 |
Trying courts |
677 |
633 |
430 |
67.93 |
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2001 |
Customs |
1857 |
1806 |
71 |
3.93 |
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2002 |
Trying courts |
402 |
376 |
272 |
72.34 |
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2002 |
Customs |
1764 |
1831 |
245 |
13.38 |
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2003 |
Trying courts |
83 |
64 |
43 |
67.19 |
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2003 |
Customs |
1707 |
1647 |
57 |
3.46 |
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2004 |
Trying courts |
91 |
64 |
39 |
60.94 |
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2004 |
Customs |
2344 |
2102 |
59 |
2.81 |
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2005 |
Trying courts |
69 |
58 |
30 |
51.72 |
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2005 |
Customs |
1745 |
1730 |
96 |
5.56 |
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2006 |
Trying courts |
75 |
70 |
42 |
60.00 |
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2006 |
Customs |
2200 |
2187 |
185 |
8.46 |
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2007 |
Trying courts |
37 |
25 |
11 |
44.00 |
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2007 |
Customs |
2029 |
2000 |
140 |
7.00 |
2. Area Specified: w.e.f. 28.8.2002
Hon’ble courts of States and UTs – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttaranchal and Union Territories
of Andaman and Nicobar Island and Lakshadweep.
All Seaports/Airports/Inland Container Depots in the U.T.s/state of:-
The Andaman and Nicobar Island, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
All International borders in the States of – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal.
Details of Number of Samples Analysed and Found Adulterated at the Four Central
Food Laboratory during the Year 2007
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Name of the Central Food Lab
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From trying courts under Section 13 (2A)13(2B) of the PFA Act
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From Customs, Court Health Officers, Government Department & Specials Samples
not connected with PFA Act
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Investigational Samples and those of Collaborative Studies |
Total
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Analysed |
Ad Adulterated |
Analysed |
Adulterated |
Analysed |
Adulterated |
Analysed |
Adulterated |
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CFL PUNE |
613 |
430 |
250 |
06 |
01
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Nil |
864 |
436 |
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CFL Kolkata |
25 |
11 |
3149 |
143 |
73 |
Nil |
3247 |
154 |
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FRSL Ghaziabad |
72 |
64 |
608 |
243 |
Nil |
Nil |
680 |
307 |
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CFTRI Mysore |
517 |
336 |
1132 |
172 |
Nil |
Nil |
1649 |
508 |
Apart from this Laboratory, there are other Central Food Laboratories situated in
Kolkatta, Mumbai, Sonauli and Raxaul. Sonauli and Raxaul are situated in the Indo-Nepal
border. Mumbai Laboratory is yet to become functional