Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has issued guidelines and requested all States and UTs to conduct periodic inspection and surveillance every 3 months initially for major fruits and vegetables markets, soft drinks and Ready to Serve Fruit Beverages as per Supreme Court Order dated 22.10.2013 in the matter- Writ petition No. 681 of 2004-Centre for Public Interest Litigation v/s Union of India.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India only fixes the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) as per Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011. The amount of Chlorphyrifos shall not exceed the tolerance limit prescribed in column 4 of Table at point No. 29 under 2.3.1 (2) of the said regulation.
The implementation and enforcement of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 rests with State/UTs Government. Random Samples of food items including carbonated drinks are being drawn by the State Food Safety Officers and sent to the laboratories recognized by FSSAI for analysis. In case where samples are found to be not conforming to the provisions of the Act and the Rules and Regulations made there under, penal action is taken against the offender.
This was stated by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today.