| Food "SAFETY" Bill - "UNSAFE" For Consumers??? |
| By : Puneet | Previous | Next |
| Posted on : 23 May, 2006 | Total Views : 643 |
PROPOSED FOOD SAFETY & STANDARDS BILL IRKS CONSUMER BODY
IF ENFORCED IN ITS PRESENT FORM, THE ACT WILL MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR CONSUMERS TO FILE COMPLAINTS AND SEEK REDRESSAL.
VOICE, India’s leading consumer education body enumerates major lacunae in the Bill in its report submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee
Working Group on Food Safety constituted by Ministry for Consumer Affairs to evaluate the Food Safety Bill is yet to submit its recommendations. Then why is the Bill being presented in Parliament in a haste?
New Delhi, India, May 23, 2006: Consumer bodies in India feel that the proposed Food & Safety Bill, to be tabled in the parliament this week, leans more towards the industry and puts consumer interests on the backburner. The Bill was introduced in the Monsoon Session of Parliament last year, and now awaits final approval from Parliament, after a review by the Department related standing committee on Agriculture.
Enumerating some of the major lacunae in the Bill’s present form, Mr. Bejon Misra, CEO, Voluntary Organization in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE), says, “Under Section 25 of Chapter 5, which deals with imported food products, no officers or laboratories have been designated to regulate imported foods. Strangely, this responsibility has been vested with the agencies dealing with Foreign Trade Act. Secondly, in Section 28 that deals with Food Recall procedures, there is no provision for compensation to the consumers for any loss or damage caused to them due to food products that have been recalled.”
Fears Roopa Vajpeyi, Editor of Consumer VOICE, the NGO’s monthly magazine, “Consumer groups fear that the revocation of the 8-odd Acts will remove some crucial consumer-interest points, which had earlier been included after some bitterly-contested battles with industry representatives. The FSS Bill now will most likely motivate industry to start lobbying for a reframing of the laws.”
In its 62-page report submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, VOICE also remarked that in its present form, the enforcement of the Act will make it more cumbersome for the consumers to file any complaints. Says Bejon Misra, “Chapter 7 of the Bill proposes a very complex system which would further make it difficult for consumers to file complaints of sub-standard food and services. Also, Section 48 (2) seems grossly inadequate in protecting the safety of the consumer due to supply of any food, as it puts the onus on the consumer rather than the food supplier. This implies that it will be completely difficult for a common consumer to take any action in the court of law. Then, contamination of food with insect fragments, rodent hairs, etc. has not even been deemed an offence. Chapter 9, which deals with such offences and penalties, specifically seems to favor the industry and puts no liability on the manufacturer or the dealer.” Not only this, adds Misra, organizations like Railways, Defense, Ports and Airports have not been included in the ambit of the provisions. The media has amply highlighted through sting operations the sub-standard quality of food supplies like Rail Neer (bottled water) in railways on quite a few occasions, he mused.
Consumer bodies also feel that the bill is being presented in the parliament in haste. Says Misra, “On 10th April, 2006, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs had directed a committee named Working Group on Food Safety under the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to evaluate the Food Safety Bill vis-ŕ-vis. Parliamentary Standing Committee Report from consumers’ perspective. The Committee is yet to submit its recommendations to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. It would have been more appropriate to wait little longer and take into consideration the Committee’s findings.”
It may be recalled here that various bodies including VOICE had been demanding that the FSS Bill be introduced in the Parliament not by the Ministry of Food Processing, but by the Health & Family Welfare Ministry. Citing the organization’s underlined remarks in the submitted report, Misra says, “The sole objective of the FSS Bill is to ensure safe food to the consumers. The Ministry of Food Processing, having the sole objective of promoting the growth and development of food processing industries, is no way concerned with the activities concerning safety of consumers from health point of view or safeguarding consumer interests. We therefore have strong reservations on piloting the Bill by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.”
Written By : Puneet
