Taking strict action, India rejects food consignments from China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Turkey due to…

This information was provided by the FIRA portal.

New Delhi: The consignments of apples, nuts, alcoholic beverages, and sushi from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Japan, China, and Turkey have been rejected by India this year because they failed to match the standards set by it.

Food Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI), the top food regulator under the Government of India, has made public the names of the countries on their recently launched Food Import Rejection Alert (FIRA), a portal which enables rapid exchange of information among authorities worldwide on food safety & health risks derived from rejected food.

FIRA enables relevant food authorities/stakeholders to take immediate action for prevention & control of risk before it causes harm and ensures enhanced traceability & transparency.

Regulation 11(7) of the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulation, 2017 empowers the Food Authority to issue Food alert notification.

FSSAI rejected cinnamon flower bud (dry) from Sri Lanka on 24 May at Bangalore. The product needs prior approval as it is not allowed as per FSS, Act, 2006. Sri Lankan Arecanut consignments were rejected on 22 April at Tuticorin port due to the presence of visible moulds and various other defects.

This information was provided by the FIRA portal

According to the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017, any food article referred to the FSSAI for import clearance must undergo a three-tier verification system, which includes scrutiny of documents, visual inspection, and sampling and testing. On June 25, the FSSAI disallowed the entry of tea bags categorized as health supplements and nutraceuticals from Japan at Bangalore, on the grounds that ‘Rooibos’ is not recognized as an approved plant or botanical ingredient.

In India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has appointed Authorized Officers at various Points of Entry to regulate the safety and quality of imported food items, as permitted by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). Commonly, products are rejected due to failure to meet quality or safety standards, but other reasons include inadequate labeling, insufficient documentation, or specific product or country requirements. Safety parameters typically encompass pesticides, heavy metals, artificial colors, flavors, etc., while quality parameters often involve moisture, fat content, total ash, and so on.

Fresh red apples from Turkey were rejected on 31 July at Kolkata Port because of short shelf life.

The food authority dismissed the entry of Budweiser’s non-alcoholic beer (GREEN APPLE) from China on May 31st at the Mumbai-JNPT Nhava Sheva port, citing its pH value was below the permissible limit for non-alcoholic beer. In a similar case, sushi nori, a type of seaweed from China, was also turned away in May at the Delhi port because it contained heavy metals and arsenic.

Arecanut (Betelnut) whole was rejected from Bangladesh.