Penalty under FSSAI– A Detailed Guide

Ashish M. Shaji

24 Jul, 2017

Unexpected things are bound to come up at the last moment, so do yourself the favour of checking applicable FSSAI Compliance and other regulatory requirement before you jump into the food business. In this article, we will discuss the penalty under FSSAI which can be invoked upon violation of FSSAI Act and rules.

What is FSSAI?

FSSAI stands for Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. FSSAI lays down basic standards for all type of food articles and regulates the various process of food life cycle like manufacturing, warehousing, retail, distribution, transport, re-packaging and export/ Import to ensure the safety with regards to food provided to the community at large. FSSAI Registration is mandatory for every food business irrespective of turnover.

There are three types of FSSAI Registration/License-

• FSSAI Basic Registration
• FSSAI State License
• FSSAI Central License

Now the question comes if a Food Business Operator (FBO) contravenes any provision of the FSSAI Act, then what penalties are levied by the FSSAI Department? If any person renders any food product which is injurious to the health of citizen is he liable for penalty under FSSAI or imprisonment or both.

Penalty under FSSAI: FSSAI Penalty Provision for Registered and Unregistered Food Operator

Some of the penalties for different acts of vendors selling food injurious to health and other offences under FSSAI are as follows:

• Penalty for selling food without meeting the demand of the buyer of quality

The penalty under FSSAI shall be invoked for selling or manufacturing or trading food products, not of nature or substance or quality demanded by the buyer. Any person who sells any food which is not in compliance with the provisions of the FSSAI Act^[1], nor of nature or substance or quality demanded by the purchaser, he shall be rendered liable to pay penalty not exceeding Rs. 5,00,000.

• The penalty for substandard food

Any person who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf Manufactures for sales or warehousing or retail sells, imports or export any article of food for human consumption which is substandard shall be rendered liable for a penalty which may extend up to Rs. 5,00,000

• The penalty for misbranded food

Any person who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf deals with any article of food for human consumption which is misbranded shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to Rs. 3,00,000.

If a person is found guilty of such offence then the Adjudicating Officer may issue a direction of an offence to that person under this section, for taking corrective action to rectify his mistake or such food article shall be destroyed.

• Penalty for misleading advertisement

Any person who publishes, or is a merely a party to such publication of an advertisement anywhere, which–

(a) Describes any food article falsely; or

(b) Misleads the nature or substance or food quality, he shall be liable to pay a penalty which may extend to Rs. 10,00,000.

• The penalty for food containing extraneous matter 

Any person whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf deals with food article that contains extraneous matter, that person shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to one lakh rupees.

• The penalty for failure to comply with the directions of Food Safety Officer

If any person fail to follow the directions of a food safety officer or don’t comply with the requirements of the FSSAI Act or the rules or regulations then such person shall be liable to a penalty which may extend up to Rs. 2,00,000.

•  The penalty for unhygienic or unsanitary processing or manufacturing of food

Any person who, whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf, manufactures or processes any article of food for human consumption under unhygienic or unsanitary conditions, he shall be liable to pay a penalty which may extend to Rs. 1,00,000.

• The penalty for possessing adulterant

Adulterant in food in common language means addition of alien substance into a food item in order to increase/improve the quantity of the food article in raw form or in the prepared form that results in the loss of actual quality of food items.

So if any person indulge in such kind of practice, is liable as under–

1. If such an adulterant is not injurious to health, then a penalty not exceeding Rs.2,00,000 shall be levied ;
2. If such an adulterant is injurious to health, then a penalty not exceeding Rs.10,00,000 shall be levied.

•  Punishment for unsafe food

Any person who, for normal human consumption sells or distributes or manufacture or export or imports by himself or by any other person on his behalf, any food items for human consumption which is not safe, he shall be punishable as under–

1. If it does not result in injury: he shall be imprisoned for a term which may extend to 6 months along with fine which may extend to Rs. 1,00,000.
2. If it results in a non-grievous injury: he shall be imprisoned for a term which may extend to 1-year plus fine which may extend to Rs. 3,00,000.
3. If it results in a grievous injury: he shall be in prison for a term which may extend to 6 years and also with fine which may extend to Rs. 5,00,000.
4. If it results in death: the imprisonment of that person will not be less than 7 years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and also with fine which shall not be less than Rs.10,00,000.

In such cases A.O. can order for cancellation of license, call off food articles from the market, cancel the establishment and property in case of serious injury or consumer dies. In other cases, he may also issue prohibition orders as deemed fit.

• Punishment for carrying out a business without a license

If any person or any food business operator (except the persons who are exempted from licensing) himself or by any person on his behalf who is mandatorily required to obtain license, but the manufacturers, trade, sell, warehousing or distribution of any food article without license, then he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months and also with a fine which may extend to Rs. 5,00,000.

• Punishment for obstructing a Food Safety Officer

If a person without reasonable excuse or reason obstructs or attempts to obstruct in verification or also threatens an FSO (Food safety officer ) in exercising his functions shall be liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three (3) months along with fine which may extend to Rs.1,00,000.

• The penalty for contraventions for which no specific penalty is provided 

A person shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to 2 lakh rupees if he contravenes and no penalty for such contravention is specified in the Act.

Conclusion

Considering the gravity of the offence, FSSAI has laid down stringent penalties as it is the matter of health of common people. Strict compliance and adherence is required from all food business operators or else penalty under FSSAI may be invoked.

Read our article:What is the Procedure for Getting an FSSAI License Number?