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Prevention of Food Adulteration Act:
A basic statute (Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) of 1954 and the PFA Rules of 1955, as amended) protects India against impure, unsafe, and fraudulently labelled foods. 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.
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.
Amendments 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Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 will be repealed from the date to be notified by the Central Government as per the Food Safety and Standards Act,2006.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.
Fruit Products Order:
The fruit and vegetable processing sector is regulated by the Fruit Products Order, 1955 (FPO), This act promulgated under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act - 1955, with an objective to manufacture fruit & vegetable products maintaining sanitary and hygienic conditions in the premises and quality standards laid down in the Order. It is mandatory for all manufacturers of fruit and vegetable products including some non fruit products like non fruit vinegar, syrup and sweetened aerated water to obtain a license under this Order.
The minimum requirements laid down in the Fruit Products Order for hygienic production and quality standards:
- Location and surroundings of the factory
- Sanitary and hygienic conditions of premises
- Personnel hygiene
- Portability of water
- Machinery & Equipment with installed capacity
- Quality control facility & Technical staff
- Product Standards
- Limits for preservatives & other additives
This order was earlier implemented by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (now by FSSAI-Food safety and standards authority of India) through the Directorate of Fruit & Vegetable Preservation, Headquarter at New Delhi.
The Meat Food Products Order, 1973:
The main objectives of the MFPO, 1973 are to regulate production and sale of meat food products through licensing of manufacturers, enforce sanitary and hygienic conditions prescribed for production of wholesome meat food products, exercise strict quality control at all stages of production of meat food products, fish products including chilled poultry etc.
Under the provision of MFPO all manufacturers of meat food products engaged in the business of manufacturing, packing, repacking, relabeling meat food products meant for sale are licensed but excluding those manufacturers who manufactures such products for consumption on the spot like a restaurant, hotel, boarding house, snack bar, eating house or any other similar establishment.
The Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947:
The Vegetable Oil Products industry is regulated by this Order through the Directorate of Vanaspati, Vegetable Oils & Fats, Department of Food, Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and Food & Public Distribution. The earlier two Orders – Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947 and Vegetable Oil Products (Standards of Quality) Order, 1975 have been replaced by a single Order called “Vegetable Oil Products (Regulation) Order, 1998 for proper regulation of manufacture, distribution and sale of Vegetable Oil Products.
Salient Features of the Order:
- The procedure of Registration has been simplified.
- The Standards of quality prescribed under the Schedule have been tightened.
- The requirement where which are vogue and non measurable and thus open to arbitrary interpretation have been done away with.
- Consumers’ protection through quality assured.
The Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1998:
The Department of Sugar and Edible Oil under Ministry of food and Consumer Affairs regulate this-order.
The Solvent Extracted Oil, De oiled Meal, and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967
It applies for oils and fats and deals with the licensing, manufacture, distribution and trade of solvent extracted edible oils and quality thereof and operated by Directorate of Vanaspati, Vegetable Oil and fats.
Milk and Milk Products Order(1992):
The production, distribution and supply of milk products are controlled by the Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992. The order sets sanitary requirements for dairies, machinery, and premises, and includes quality control, certification, packing, marking and labeling standards for milk and milk products. Standards specified in the order also apply to imported products. The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture is the regulatory authority.
Livestock Importation Act(1898):
India has established procedures for the importation of livestock and associated products under the Livestock Importation Act, 1898. Under the regulations, the import of meat products, eggs and egg powder and milk products require a sanitary import permit from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture. A detailed import risk analysis is carried out, taking into account the disease situation prevailing in the exporting country compared with the disease situation in India.
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