The CAG Finds Glitches In The Functioning Of FSSAI

According to the report by The Hindu, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found irregularities and glitches in the functioning of The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The main glitch here was that most licenses that were issued to business operators were without complete documentation.

Inefficient System Of FSSAI Revealed

The CAG found that 65 out of the 75 State Food Labs did not have the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories accreditation according to the report. The FSSAI and the the State authorities had been sending samples to these labs despite this major glitch in documents. According to the auditor the FSSAI has failed to ensure that the customs authorities are following up with the ‘Non-Conformance Reports’ which are issued by the regulators. Further the regulator had failed to make sure that unsafe food is not entering India.

The publication reports the findings of the CAG which include “systemic inefficiencies, delays and deficiencies in the framing of various regulations and standards, amendments to regulations in violation of the Act and the specific direction of the Supreme Court”. This came up in the audit which was conducted by CAG on food safety in 10 chosen states.

There was a test check conducted on three Central and five State licensing authorities says the report and 3119 out of 5915 cases licenses were issued to the Food Business Operators due to incomplete documentation. “Shortage of qualified manpower and functional food testing equipment in State laboratories and referral laboratories resulted in deficient testing of samples,” the CAG told The Hindu. The report further said that the FSSAI and State authorities did not document policies and procedures on risk-based inspections. Plus it added that the FSSAI did not have any sort of database on food businesses.