The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed food safety authorities across the country to intensify inspections and sampling during Navratri and ahead of Diwali, targeting adulterated, counterfeit and unsafe food products in busy festive markets. The special drive will cover sweet shops, snack stalls, food outlets and other locations where demand rises sharply during the festival season.
The advisory was issued by Amit Sharma, Executive Director (CS) of the FSSAI’s Regulatory Compliance Division, in a communication to the commissioners of all states and Union Territories and the authority’s regional directors. It asks designated officers, food safety officers and central food safety officers to conduct inspections and collect samples within their respective jurisdictions.
The FSSAI has identified sweets, savouries, beverages, edible oils, milk and milk products as priority categories. The list includes ghee, khoa and paneer, products that are widely used in festive food preparation and are sold through both established shops and temporary market outlets. Authorities have also been asked to focus on identified hotspots and sensitive locations where closer monitoring may be required because of the possibility of food adulteration or the sale of unsafe products.
The advisory places particular emphasis on the use of Food Safety on Wheels units wherever these mobile testing facilities are available. The units may be stationed at prominent marketplaces or moved to locations identified through specific intelligence inputs. Their role is to support on-the-spot testing, improve surveillance and create greater awareness among consumers about food safety.
Mobile testing units are expected to be relevant in crowded festive markets, where temporary stalls, roadside vendors and sweet shops can attract large numbers of customers within a short period. However, the FSSAI has made clear that mobile testing is to form part of a broader inspection, sampling and enforcement exercise rather than operate as a standalone measure.
The authority has also asked states and Union Territories to adapt surveillance to local food habits and regional demand. Alongside commonly consumed festive products, officials may include items that are specific to particular regions. The advisory cites kuttu atta and singhada atta, used in parts of northern and western India, as examples of commodities that may require attention depending on local consumption patterns.
The directions also create a reporting requirement for the enforcement system. Details of inspections, samples collected and their outcomes must be entered on the Food Safety Compliance System, or FoSCoS, and FOSCORIS on a real-time basis. This is intended to provide a current record of the enforcement activity carried out during the festive period.
For urban consumers, the drive brings food safety enforcement into the functioning of crowded seasonal markets, where formal shops, temporary sellers and mobile vendors operate alongside one another. The FSSAI has asked the concerned authorities to treat the special surveillance exercise as a matter of the highest importance during the period of increased festive demand.
