Food Adulteration: Law, Punishment and Case Procedure

According to the “Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, of 1954”, an adulterant is any addition or subtraction of any substance that makes the food unsafe or unhealthier. The food is considered adulterated if it is -

• Has harmful substances,
• The product does not meet the expectations of the buyer,
• Have cheap or low-quality substances,
• Product stored unhygienically,
• The product comes from sick animals,
• Has toxic chemicals,
• Has too much colouring or preservatives,
• Not having quality standards

Note: It is not considered adulterated if the quality issues are caused by natural causes.

There are three types of Food Adulteration, these are as follow:

• Intentional Adulteration:  When low-quality or harmful substances are added or subtracted to food products deliberately known as intentional adulteration. The seller uses this method to enhance the appearance, and taste or often to gain more profits. Adding water to milk, adding colours or preservatives in food, and mixing inferior grains with high-quality ones are some examples of intentional adulteration.


• Incidental Adulteration:  During the processing, handling or food storage, some substance is added to the food product unintentionally known as incidental adulteration. This adulteration mainly happens due to a lack of hygiene practices or negligence during the processing. Accidental inclusion of dirty things or hair, contamination from pesticides and more are some examples of incidental adulteration.


• Metallic Adulteration:   When food gets mixed with dangerous metals that may seriously harm human health, this is known as metallic adulteration. The usage of unsafe machinery, contaminated environments, or packaging materials can all lead to this. Lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium are common metallic adulterants that can infiltrate food items during the manufacturing or processing phases.

There are so many reasons for food adulteration some of them are mentioned below:

• The vendor or seller adds harmful and cheaper substances to make the product appear fresher to earn more profit. Sellers can significantly increase margins by using low-quality ingredients or fillers.
• In this competitive marketplace, some businesses use adulterated products to lower prices and attract more consumers.
• Sometimes the vendors are unable to meet the high demand of the consumers, here adulteration is used to meet market needs to avoid product shortages. Limited availability of genuine products or ingredients leads to the use of filler to maintain production.
• Most of us as a consumer are unaware of the risk and unable to detect adulteration. In some cases, small-scale producers are not aware of the health risks associated with adulteration.

The FASSI stands for the "Food Safety and Standards Authority of India” established in 2006. It works for inspecting, testing food samples and enforcing food safety standards. It gives licences and registers food businesses to ensure compliance. The FASSI also makes rules for food safety. It also works for conducting awareness campaigns and training programs for consumers. The FSSAI aims to guarantee that safe and high-quality food is available in India by regularly updating regulations and interacting with stakeholders.