Laws, staff, infrastructure change, so food is safe in Karnataka

Food laboratories in the state are all set to go through a complete makeover. After the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA, 2006) on August 5, certain improvements will be made to increase the food safety standards.

Although there are six food laboratories in the state now, these are not equipped even with the basic amenities; the infrastructure is poor and the manpower is inadequate.

After integrating FSSA and Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), 1954, more changes will be brought in. Additional food inspectors will be recruited, the labs will be made more effective and a fast track court will be set up to settle food-related issues.

The state health commissioner will be responsible for the implementation of this Act at a state level. However, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will remain the nodal body under the Union health ministry.

Selva Kumar, mission director and food commissioner for Karnataka, said, “When compared to the PFA, the FSSA is more scientific and integrated. However, to implement it effectively, the state will need sufficient and trained human resources.”

“At present, there is a crunch of manpower and we are running the show with 104 food inspectors across the state. The minimum requirement is to have at least one inspector in each taluk, and that comes up to 175 inspectors. So we will recruit more food inspectors soon,” he added.

The food inspectors in the state have now been designated as food safety officers, and they need to be well aware of the provisions of the new Act.

To enable this, a training workshop for district-level supervising officers and adjudicating officers will be held on July 21, 22 and 23 in three batches, each comprising 30 health officers. There will be two levels of training: One on the selection of food samples, analysis, and prosecution and the other on the rules and implementation of the Act.

 “The proposal of setting up a fast track court for food-related cases is part of the mandate of FSSA. However, it is still at a planning stage now. A proposal has been sent to the state government in this regard. The government needs to initiate action and delegate power to this independent food court,” said Kumar.

The department is now focusing on strengthening the existing food laboratories of the state. “There are already six food labs. Right now, we are not concentrating on setting up more labs. We are  strengthening existing ones,” he said.

A proposal has already been sent to the government in this regard, he added.