26% food samples failed quality test in Haryana in 8 years

Tribune News Service

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, May 1

As many as 6,140 of 23,653 food item samples collected from various parts of the state in the period between April 1, 2016, and January 31, 2024, failed the purity test. The sample failure rate has come at 25.95 per cent.

It was revealed in a reply submitted by the office of the Joint Commissioner, Food Safety, Haryana, in the High Court in response to a petition filed by Varun Sheokand, a local resident in 2022.

In the PIL, Sheokand had demanded stringent action against the individuals or units engaged in unethical practices of manufacturing, storage, sale and distribution of fake, adulterated, misbranded and substandard articles of food, especially milk and its derivatives such as cheese, paneer, ghee, khoya and cream made from synthetic and other harmful additive chemicals without adhering to the parameters laid down in the Foods Supply Standards Act (FSSAI)-2006.

While the Food Safety Department, in its reply, had denied some claims mentioned in the petition, it is claimed that a monthly target collection of 30 food samples by each of the Food Safety Officers had already been fixed in their respective jurisdiction.

The department had collected a total of 23,653 samples across the state. Of these total samples, 17,513 samples passed the test while 6,140 failed to qualify. The percentage of failed samples has been 25.95 per cent.

According to the authorities, while surprise inspections and raids were being conducted to curb adulteration in food products, special drives were also carried out during the festival season. The department collected as many as 1,897 samples in the special drives (festive season) during the period between August 27, 2020, and November 15, 2023. Of these, 281 samples (14.8 percent) failed the test.

In the petition, the petitioner claimed that while the consumption of adulterated products had been posing a risk to people’s health, the department concerned was yet to take adequate and strict action to curb such practices despite directions having been issued for the checking, controlling, surveillance, monitoring, licensing, sampling and testing.

According to sources in the administration, acute shortage of staff might have been a prominent cause behind the inadequate checking or sampling. Only one Food Safety Officer has been posted in the districts of Faridabad and Palwal against four sanctioned posts, and the sampling process remains halted in view of the staff deployed in the election duty at present.

Designated Officer Prithvi Singh said raids and sampling work was a continuous or regular process.

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