Alcohol has emerged as the sector with the largest number of counterfeit cases in India in 2020, with experts attributing this to a lack of enforcement as well as high profits available for counterfeiters during the COVID-19 crisis.
Apart from alcohol, multiple other everyday food items in India including cumin seeds, mustard oil and ghee were mentioned as major sectors affected by counterfeiting activity.
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FSSAI found a consistent increase in cases of non-compliance across the country from previous years. The National Accreditation Board for Testing & Calibration Laboratories tested 1,06,459 food samples during 2018-19, and found 30,415 samples non-conforming, of which 3900 samples were declared unsafe, 16,870 were sub-substandard, and the rest were mislabelled. As a result the Authority prosecuted 2813 criminal and 18550 civil cases resulting in 701 criminal convictions and 12734 fines.
Read the article or the full FSSAI Annual 2018-19 report in English (from page182)
The State of Counterfeiting in India 2020 report, performed by the Authentication Solution Provider's Association (ASPA), determined that counterfeit incidents rose by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2019, with a 21% rise specifically in the food & beverage sector.
The rise in food fraud could negatively impact India's new "Make In India" campaign, which was launched in 2014 and aimed at making India a global hub of manufacturing by encouraging companies to manufacture their products in the companyThe report emphasises the importance of ensuring products are genuine and safe to consumer trust.
Read more about the report and it's details here on Food Navigator Asia.
The FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) analysed 106,459 food samples across India in 2018-19, and found over 15.8% of the food samples were sub-standard, 3.7% unsafe, and 9% mislabelled. The FSSAI have accused 10 Indian states of being unable to ensure food security for consumers as they lack the workforce and adequate food testing laboratory infrastructure. In addition, a research report by Uttra Pradesh based Harcourt Butler Technical University found 70% of adulterated mustard oil in markets in Kanpur, a city known for its important markets for edible oil.
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Cyber Crime Police Units in India are to use a procedure of mapping the geographical locations of crime spots identified during the crackdown on food adulteration so as to help the police keep a tab on them.
This is not a new procedure since this method is used to geotag other incidents such as accident hot-spots but it is being used in adulteration cases for the first time in India.
Data on manufacturing units sealed or against whom action was initiated on charges of adulteration will be compiled with photographs and location and shared with all Surveillance Officers together with information on the geotagged adulteration units.
In the recent survey, conducted by the Food and Drug Administration Department of India under the milk survey of Food Safety and Standard Authority, the apex regulatory body to ensure food standards and quality in the country, 25 per cent of milk samples failed the quality check.
These samples were not only taken from dairies but also from milk packets.
“Under the survey, conducted by the FSSAI across the nation, we have collected 45 samples from various dairies and packaging units of the city. Over 10 samples have failed to clear the quality test including four contain sodium bicarbonate,” senior food safety officer Manish Swami said.
He said that samples of Mahindra Saboro, the packaged milk launched by Mahindra and Mahindra, were also failed as they contain sodium bicarbonate. “Samples of Saboro were also failed and many of the samples contain more water. Milk samples were also found to contain a neutraliser (sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydroxide) to increase the shelf life of milk. Many samples had fat content lower than what was prescribed by the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (PFA),” he added.
However, samples taken from rural areas were found even better than the set standards in terms of fat content and quality. Swami said that they would serve notices to the adulterators and also send our report to the FSSAI.
