From cheese to whisky: India returns 1,500 imported foods amid safety woes

Amidst recent concerns over Indian species being rejected abroad due to excessive residual pesticide levels, India itself has been stringent in its food import regulations. Over the past two financial years, India has turned away around 1,500 consignments of imported food products for failing to meet its rigorous quality and safety standards, reported Mint citing officials.

These rejected shipments originated from various countries and trade blocs, including developed economies known for their stringent food regulatory regimes, one official told Mint. Concurrently, several Indian food items have faced rejections by other countries in recent times.

Notably, Singapore and Hong Kong recently banned Indian spices citing elevated levels of ethylene oxide — a carcinogenic pesticide — above permissible limits. In response, India’s top food regulator initiated a comprehensive probe and testing of all the spice brands within the country.

 

FSSAI rejected 1,550 imported food items in two years

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), India’s top food regulator, rejected approximately 1,000 imported items in FY22-23, spanning products like cheese, almonds, milk and milk products, whisky, dates, apples, coffee, seafood, and chocolates. Another 550 items faced rejection in FY23-24 for failing to comply with Indian safety standards.

While specific details of the rejected food items and their origins remain unverified independently, officials stressed the importance of further action. “The Department of Commerce has compiled a list of countries and food items rejected on safety grounds to guide future steps,” a second official told Mint.

India imports food from over 100 countries, regulated under the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006, ensuring uniform standards for both domestic and imported products. The Ministry of Commerce acknowledged frequent failures in mandatory testing of incoming consignments, emphasizing FSSAI’s pivotal role in import regulation, market surveillance, and subsequent measures.

FSSAI’s three-tier import verification process

FSSAI employs a rigorous three-tier verification process — document scrutiny, visual inspection, and sampling/ testing — for imported food items. Authorized officers stationed at entry points oversee these procedures, ensuring adherence to Indian standards. Non-compliant samples result in Non-Conforming Reports (NCRs), barring entry into the Indian market until compliance is verified.

Moreover, FSSAI’s Risk Management System (RMS), integrated with Customs’ SWIFT interface, assesses various risk factors before granting import clearance. Challenges such as varying international standards, limited testing facilities across ports, and evolving testing protocols necessitate strategic limitations on entry points for effective food safety management.

Pawan Agarwal, CEO of Food Future Foundation and former food regulator, highlighted ongoing challenges including traceability and the management of high-risk imports like perishable foods susceptible to contamination.

Ensuring the safety of imported food

All food that is imported to India has to follow Indian standards, Agarwal said adding that sometimes food standards of the exporting country may not match with our standards. So, there used to be a mismatch in standards. “Food comes through more than 100 ports of entry and all ports must ensure imported food is safe. So, food samples are collected for testing. However, testing facilities are not available at all the ports and samples are sent to the accredited laboratory. Therefore, we restricted the import of food items to a certain number of ports so that food testing can be done more effectively. Another challenge was that the testing protocol was not robust enough,” Agarwal said.

He further mentioned that traceability is another crucial issue to ensure that only safe food is imported into India.

The food regulator also closely monitors international food alerts. “We largely import apples, pulses, edible oil, high-risk food, fresh foods such as sea food, meat etc. which have a propensity to get spoiled due to microbial contamination and poor temperature control,” Aggarwal said.