Crimes related to Food
in India

What are Food Crimes?

Consumers need to be sure that their
food is safe to consume and served as it is suppose to be.

Food crime can be defined as a serious
fraud that is related to crime from the production of food till the supply
chain. This definition includes work that has an impact on the beverage and
diet of animals. It can be very dangerous for consumers, food businesses and
the wider food industry. Food crimes strongly affect the safety or the authenticity of food, drink
or animal feed. Foods and drinks that being sold to you, might be safe or might
not be safe, which isn’t safe or isn’t what it claims to be can be a result of
food crimes.

Who
controls food security in India?

Food security and the Indian authorities
are working to prevent food-related crimes, to investigate the matter
thoroughly, to resolve problems and ensure the proper functioning of food
businesses throughout India.

The Department of Health and Family
Welfare has established the Food Safety and Security Authority of India (FSSAI)
under the Food Safety and Security Act, 2006 to regulate food science and
production standards, such as packaging, packaging, storage, distribution, importation
and importation for sale to ensure good food quality. The Act was enforced to
establish a single food quality forum for various food products.

Actions taken by FSSAI such as Vegetable
Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947, Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order
1988, Solvent Extracted Oil, De-Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order,
1967, etc. Act, 2006.

Some of the regulations that were put in
place to maintain food security are:

• Food Security and Standards (Licensing
and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulation, 2011.

• Food Security and Standards (Standards
for Food Products and Food Ingredients) Regulation, 2011.

• Food Security and Standards
(Prohibition and Prohibition of Food) Regulation, 2011.

• Food Security and Standards (Import),
2017, etc.

Types
of food-related crimes

1. Illegal Processing - Slaughtering,
modification or processing of animal products without proper regulatory
framework.

2. Waste Diversion- Unauthorized
diversion of food, drink or feed intended to be thrown back into appropriate
supply chains.

3. Exchanging- Switching a food product
or ingredient into something similar but inferior.

4. Distortion of facts about origin,
quality, origin or benefits- Marketing or labeling a product to misrepresent
its quality, safety, profit, origin or youth.

5. Document Fraud - The use of false or
improper documentation to market the market or otherwise guarantee a fraudulent
or substandard product.

6. Adultery
- Reducing the quality of food production by importing it, with the aim of
reducing production costs or apparent quality.

Adultery is the act of adding or mixing
low, low, dangerous, low-level, useless or unnecessary foods. This act of
environmental degradation and the quality of property is considered adultery.

Types of adultery: Food items,
medicines, vegetables, pastes, creams, popular branded products and more.

Punishment for adultery - Sections 272
to 276 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deal with offenses relating to food,
drink, drugs or medical arrangements. Offenses are punishable by imprisonment
for up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs 1000, or both.