Indian
Express: New Delhi: Wednesday, 24 June 2015.
Only 0.66 per
cent of the food and fruit products tested by the Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI) at ports and international airports in the last four
years were found to be of inferior quality and not allowed into the country.
Responding to
an RTI application filed by The Indian Express, the FSSAI said it had tested
2,60,457 samples of fruit and food products between 2011 and 2015, out of which
only 1,720, or 0.66 per cent, were found to be of inferior quality.
“The imported
products not complying with FSS Act 2006… were not allowed into the country.
Hence, no penalty (was) imposed against foreign companies for supplying
inferior food/fruit products and no action (was) taken against companies whose
imported products were found to be of inferior quality,” FSSAI’s assistant
director (imports) Sabita Jaiswal said.
Though the
FSSAI did not provide details of items that were rejected, sources said a substantial
number of these came from European Union countries.
Items not
allowed to enter the country include garlic powder, white onion powder, fruit
drinks, chocolates and dietary supplements, including a popular brand of
protein powder. Also on the list are soybean oil, spices, additives, fruits,
peach syrup, jack cheese (an American semi-hard cheese) and a gummy candy
brand.
After the FSS
Act was enacted in 2006, authorities started examining consignments in 2011 at
international airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Cochin and Chennai, seaports
in Mumbai, Kolkata, Cochin and Chennai, and at Inland Container Depots in Delhi’s
Patparganj and Tughlakabad.
.JPG)
.JPG)
