States » NorthPosted at: Oct 6 2026 9:42AM


FSSAI steps up food safety checks ahead of festive season

Panchkula, Oct 6 (UNI) Ahead of the festive season, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed food safety authorities across the country to step up inspections and sampling.
The regulator has ordered a special drive to prevent adulterated, counterfeit, and unsafe food products from reaching consumers amid surging demand for sweets, dairy products, and edible oils.
FSSAI has asked all states and union Territories to intensify surveillance at identified hotspots and sensitive locations, directing enforcement officials to focus particularly on sweets, milk and milk products such as ghee, khoa, and paneer, as well as edible oils, beverages, namkeen, papad, fryums, and other high-demand food items.
The directive, issued to food safety commissioners of all states and UTs, as well as FSSAI regional directors, has been marked "MOST IMPORTANT," underscoring the regulator's emphasis on stronger enforcement during the Navratri-Diwali period.
"With the onset of the upcoming Navratri and Diwali festivals, the demand for sweets, savouries, beverages, edible oils, and milk and milk products (such as ghee, khoa, paneer, etc.) and other food items witnesses a significant surge across the country," FSSAI stated.
Against this backdrop, the regulator said there was a need for "heightened surveillance and enforcement actions" to prevent the circulation of adulterated, counterfeit, and unsafe food.
FSSAI has instructed Designated Officers, Food Safety Officers, and Central Food Safety Officers to conduct inspections and sampling within their jurisdictions during the festive period.
Crucially, the regulator has advised authorities to concentrate enforcement efforts on identified hotspots and sensitive areas rather than limiting the exercise to routine checks.
This direction is expected to bring manufacturers, wholesalers, sweet shops, dairy product suppliers, and other food businesses dealing in high-demand festive products under closer scrutiny.
FSSAI has also clarified that the commodities targeted may vary from one region to another depending on local dietary habits and the prevalence of specific food products.
The order specifically mentions kuttu atta and singhada atta in northern and western India, where their consumption rises during fasting periods.
The regulator has ordered the strategic deployment of Food Safety on Wheels (FSW) units wherever available, enabling testing facilities to be taken directly to prominent marketplaces.
The mobile laboratories may also be deployed based on specific intelligence inputs, giving enforcement teams the flexibility to target suspected adulteration rather than relying solely on routine inspections.
According to FSSAI, the mobile units should facilitate on-the-spot testing, strengthen vigilance, raise consumer awareness, and help build confidence in the quality and safety of food being sold during the festive season.
In another significant step to tighten accountability, FSSAI has made digital reporting of enforcement activity mandatory.
"The relevant data of inspection, sampling, and their outcome [is] mandatorily to be updated/recorded on FoSCoS/FoSCoRIS on a real-time basis," the regulator said.
This means enforcement activity will not end with inspections and sample collection. Authorities will also be required to digitally record the action and its outcome, allowing the regulator to monitor the drive as it unfolds.
The directive was issued by Dr Amit Sharma, Executive Director (CS), FSSAI, and sent to commissioners of all states and UTs and all regional directors of the food regulator.
The nationwide initiative effectively places the festive food supply chain under sharper scrutiny at a time when increased demand for sweets, khoa, paneer, ghee, milk products, and edible oils can heighten the risk of substandard or adulterated products entering the market.
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