India Rejects Food Shipments From China; Takes Strict Actions!

India Rejects Food Shipments From China; Takes Strict Actions!

India has turned down shipments of apples, nuts, wines and spirits, sushi from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Japan, China and Turkey this year saying that the imported products did not meet Indian standards. Food Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) the apex food regulator in India has publicly declared the name of the country on its freshly launched web based Food Import Rejection Alert, an Internet portal which facilitates sharing of findings about food safety and health hazards emanating from rejected food products.

FIRA allows the various food authorities/stakeholders to make immediate responses in regard to prevention & control of risk before that risk poses harm and imparts greater traceability and transparency. The Food alert notice is empowered by the Regulation 11(7) of the Food of Safety and Standard (Import) Regulation that was established in year 2017.

India imports food from over 100 nations. From FIRA portal , FSSAI rejected cinnamon flower bud (dry) from Sri Lanka on 24 May at Bangalore. The product requires prior approval as it is prohibited by the FSS, Act, 2006. Sri Lankan Arecanut consignments were rejected on 22 April at Tuticorin port because the samples contained visible moulds and other defects. Under Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulation 2017 the foods article when referred to FSSAI for import clearance, the entry is subjected to three tier checks document check, physical check and standrad sampling and test.

On 25 June, FSSAI rejected tea bags, in the category of health supplements & nutraceuticals, from Japan at Bangalore saying 'Rooibos' is not listed as a permitted plant/botanical ingredient. In India, in order to regulate the imported food items for their safety and quality, FSSAI has notified Authorized Officers for various Points of Entry, through which Import of food item is allowed by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

The major cause for rejection of product is quality or safety standard, other standard are declaration of label, lack of accompanying documents and any other requirement the country of import has for the product. In a general connotation, safety parameters pertain to pesticide residues, heavy metals, colours, flavours etc whereas, quality parameters comprise of moisture, fat content, total ash etc.

New, red apples of the Turkey origin were rejected at Kolkata Port on 31 July 2013 due to short shelf life. The food regulator turned down an entry to Budweiser non- alcoholic beer – GREEN APPLE from China on 31 May at Mumbai- JNPT Nhava Sheva port, stating that the pH value of the beer is below the regulation standard for beer without alcohol.

Likewise, sushi that is a Chinese seaweed too, seized in May at Delhi port for containing heavy metal and Arsenic. The whole of Arecanut (Betelnut) was banned from Bangladesh. The spokes people at India’s health ministry, FSSAI and High commission of Sri Lanka, Japan, China, Bangladesh and Turkey did not respond to the queries till now.