India rejects food shipments from China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Japan, Turkey. Here's why

For the safety of its citizens, India has taken a firm stand and has rejected multiple food consignments from China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Turkey this year. It was done so as they fell short of the standards set by it.

India with a growing population of 1.42 billion population, imports food items from more than 100 countries.

However, in its recently launched portal - Food Import Rejection Alert (FIRA), India’s apex food regulator — Food Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) – made public the names of the countries, items and reasons of rejection of food items.

Why did India reject food shipments?

As per regulation 11(7) of the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulation, 2017, the Food Authority is empowered to issue food alert notification.

The food consignments were rejected after FSSAI (FSSAI) identified several issues ranging from contamination to non-compliance with quality regulations.

China

The FSSAI rejected the shipment of Sushi Nori to Delhi on May 6 due to the presence of heavy metal - Arsenic in them.

In the last of the same month (May 31), a consignment of Budweiser (non alcoholic beer) to Mumbai’s JNPT Nhava Sheva was rejected after pH value was less than the prescribed limit for Alcohol-free Beer.

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Sri Lanka

The FSSAI, on May 24 rejected cinnamon flower buds (dry) consignment at Bangalore as the product, which falls under the category of spices and condiments, needs prior product approval as it is not allowed as per FSS, Act, 2006.

On April 22, a consignment of Sri Lankan arecanut to Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin was cancelled as moulds were visible on them. Also, the nuts were damaged by moulds and insects. They were blemished/cracked, broken, and were not fully de-husked.

Bangladesh

The arecanut (betelnut) consignment to Tuticorin from Bangladesh was rejected on February 20 due as the nuts were damaged by moulds and insects and the percentage of moisture was also more than the prescribed limits.

Japan

Three consignments of tea bag, under product category ‘Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals’, which were shipped to Bangalore from Japan on June 25 were rejected as prior Product approval was required because ‘Rooibos’ is not listed as a permitted plant/botanical ingredient under the FSS Act, 2006 and the regulations made.

Turkey

India on July 31 rejected a consignment of fresh red apples from Turkey which were shipped to Kolkata because remaining shelf life of the fruit was not sufficient (i.e., neither 60 per cent of shelf life nor 3 months before expiry) and thereby violated regulation 5(6) of the FSS(Import) Regulation, 2017.

According to the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017, any food article, when referred to FSSAI for import clearance, has to undergo a three-tier system of verification which includes scrutiny of documents, visual inspection, sampling and testing.

All the details are available of FIRA, the portal who’s key features include transparency - provide information about rejected consignments, traceability - ensure better tracking of non-compliant shipments, and rapid action - facilitating speedy responses from concerned authorities to mitigate health risks.

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With FIRA’s implementation, India not just aims to streamline communication among stakeholders but also uphold food safety standards.

With inputs from agencies.