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Context:

India's role in global food standard development was acknowledged during the 88th session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC 88) held at the FAO Headquarters in Rome.

INDIA’S ROLE IN GLOBAL FOOD STANDARDS

What are the main groups that create global food safety rules?

The main international body that sets global food standards is the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).

• Who created it and when? => Established in 1963. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), both parts of the United Nations, work together to manage it.
• What are its goals? => The CAC has two main goals: to protect consumers' health and to make sure that food trade between countries is fair. 
• Is India a part of it? => India is a founding member of the CAC and actively participates in its meetings.
• India's active role in shaping these standards has received recent recognition.

Which Indian organization is responsible for food safety within the country?

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was established under the Food Safety & Standards Act of 2006.

• What does FSSAI do? => Protect and promote public health, by creating science-based standards for different types of food and regulating how food gets manufactured, stored, sold, and imported.
• How does FSSAI connect with global standards? => FSSAI acts as India's National Codex Contact Point (NCCP). 
• FSSAI shares its ideas and works to make sure India's food rules match international standards while also protecting India's interests.

How does India benefit from the global food standards?

 Better Public Health => According to a World Bank report, unsafe food still costs India about $15 billion annually, and causes millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths each year.  

• By improving food safety, India could reduce this burden.  

More Agricultural Exports => Following global standards helps Indian food products meet the strict requirements of other countries, like those in the European Union (EU) or the United States. This makes it easier for India to export its agricultural products globally.

Influencing Global Policies => India actively pushes for global standards for its traditional foods, such as millets. In 2023, the Codex Alimentarius Commission endorsed India's proposal to develop global group standards for millets 

• By participating, India gains influence and goodwill on the world stage. 
• India has chaired the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs since 2014 and is co-chairing work on turmeric and broccoli. 

Driving Domestic Innovation => Encourages Indian food businesses to adopt modern technologies for food processing, quality control, and traceability. 

• Better Quality Control => Businesses implement more strict quality control processes to meet both national and international standards.
• FSSAI's "Eat Right India" Movement => Promote safer, healthier, and more sustainable food choices among Indians.

What challenges does India face in implementing food standards?

Informal Food Sector => Street vendors and small-scale businesses provide affordable food and livelihoods for millions but poses a big challenge for regulators. 

• Tough for FSSAI to monitor and ensure compliance with food safety rules in this unorganized sector due to their mobility, cash transactions, and minimal documentation.
• FSSAI has piloted initiatives like "Clean Street Food Hub" to address this by providing training and helping improve infrastructure.

Infrastructure & Capacity Gaps => Limited advanced testing labs, many FSSAI recognized and notified labs still lack the equipment to test for pathogens.  

Awareness & Enforcement Issues => Many food handlers and consumers lack enough knowledge about food safety and hygiene.

• Food regulators face limitations in resources (funds, staff) to carry out effective inspections and enforcement. 

Diverse Food Culture & Regional Specifics => Diverse food cultures sometimes conflict with uniform national or international standards. 

• Challenging to adapt global food safety rules to fit India's unique local food environments and traditional methods.

What steps is India taking to strengthen its food safety system?

Capacity Building & Training => Training programs for regulators, the food industry, and on consumer awareness to improve food safety knowledge and practices. For example, FSSAI's FoSTaC program trains food safety supervisors.

Technological Adoption => New technologies like digital platforms for licensing and compliance (e.g., FoSCoS) and the Food Safety Connect app for real-time reporting, also working on traceability systems.

Policy Harmonization => Aligned its domestic food standards more closely with international Codex standards, especially for things like Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pesticides and Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) values for additives. 

Increased Research & Development => Investing in generating local toxicological data and conducting "Total Diet Studies" to understand how different dietary patterns affect exposure to contaminants.

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Source: NEWSONAIR