The Supreme Court of India has insisted that federal and state food regulators need to be tougher on food adulteration.
In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) case filed by lawyer Vineet Dhanda, the court was asked to issue directions to food safety regulators on the monitoring and regulation of adulteration of food and other consumer products. The PIL also urged for the formation of a special agency to take immediate action like searching, sealing and seizing products of violators.
“Existing laws regarding food adulteration are incapable of punishing the offenders who contribute to the menace of rising food adulteration by their wrongful acts and also the existing laws and guidelines are insufficient to control the problem of adulteration of food,” the PIL said.
According to Indian reports, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the central and state governments as well as union territories administrations. A bench headed by chief justice HL Dattu is also sought to raise the awareness about the dangers of adulteration in everyday edible items including medicines.
The notice comes on the heels of a food contamination scare involving Nestle’s Maggi branded noodles. According to the authorities, elevated levels of lead and the ingredient MSG were detected in the noodles – claims that Nestle denies.
