Food Safety and Nutrition in India - A Public Health Challenge

Context:

• In India, food safety and nutrition are often overshadowed by socio-political considerations, despite alarming public health indicators like widespread child malnutrition and rising non-communicable diseases.
• Rampant food adulteration - ranging from milk and paneer to spices and oils - not only endangers health but also undermines the country’s economic credibility and regulatory framework.

Food and its Socio-Political Dimensions:

• Food as a social construct: Decisions around food in India, including mid-day meals and public functions, are influenced more by social and political contexts than by nutritional needs.
• Neglect of health aspects: Health considerations often take a back seat despite alarming nutrition indicators. 

Nutritional Status and Policy Apathy:

• NFHS-5 (2019–21) findings (among under five children):
  • Stunting: 35.5%
  • Wasting: 19.3%
  • Underweight prevalence: 32.1%
• Lack of nutritional prioritization: Despite such indicators, public health and nutrition continue to be low on the policy agenda.

The Menace of Food Adulteration:

• Adulteration in dairy products:
  • Milk adulteration:
    • National survey on milk adulteration (2011): 70% of milk samples failed safety standards.
    • Common adulterants: Water, salt, detergents, glucose.
  • Fake paneer: Detected in Delhi, Mumbai, Noida with adulterants like starch, synthetic milk, acetic acid.
• Spices:
  • Hong Kong banned (April 2024) MDH and Everest spice blends for containing ethylene oxide (carcinogen).
  • The EU has raised concerns about the presence of ethylene oxide in chilli peppers from India, and banned 400 spice items between 2019–2024 due to contamination.
• Edible oil contamination:
  • Common adulterants: Rice bran oil, argemone oil, artificial allyl isothiocyanate.
  • Health implications: Linked with non-communicable diseases like diabetes.

Public Health Implications:

• India’s health crisis:
  • Referred to as the "Diabetes Capital" with 77 million adults (above 18) suffering from this non-communicable disease.
  • A recent study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has attributed this to the dietary patterns, including ultra-processed and fried food consumption.
• Lack of public awareness: Adulterated food leads to food poisoning and even death in severe cases.

Regulatory and Institutional Gaps:

• Role of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI):
  • Conducts raids, tests sample, cancels licenses.
  • Urges the public to be cautious - a shift of responsibility from the state to individuals.
• Challenges in implementation:
  • Weak state infrastructure hampers effective food regulation.
  • Need for capacity building among food producers and vendors.

Way Forward - Reforms and Recommendations:

• Stricter FSSAI enforcement: Nationwide standardization and compliance.
• Improved food supply chain: Focus on farming, processing, and packaging hygiene.
• Food literacy: Promotion of awareness regarding safe and nutritious food consumption.
• Review of pesticide permissibility: Update safety norms to align with global standards.
• Empowering citizens without abdicating state responsibility: Balanced accountability framework.

Conclusion:

• Food safety is not just a health concern - it is a governance issue with socio-economic and international ramifications.
• Ensuring clean, nutritious, and unadulterated food must be a state priority backed by institutional strength, regulatory vigilance, and public engagement, especially in a country facing dual burdens of undernutrition and non-communicable diseases.

Q1. Discuss the role of the state in ensuring food safety and nutrition in India.

Ans. The state plays a critical role in regulating food quality, implementing nutrition policies, and ensuring public health through institutions like FSSAI, but often shifts responsibility to individuals, weakening accountability.

Q2. How does food adulteration contribute to India’s dual burden of disease?

Ans. Food adulteration exacerbates both communicable and non-communicable diseases by exposing consumers to harmful substances, undermining nutritional intake, and contributing to conditions like diabetes and cancer.

Q3. Evaluate the impact of food adulteration on India's agricultural and export economy.

Ans. Adulteration tarnishes India's international image, especially in spice exports, leading to import bans and trade losses, and negatively affects farmers and producers reliant on global markets.

Q4. What are the key findings of NFHS-5 related to child nutrition, and what do they imply for policy?

Ans. NFHS-5 reports 35.5% stunting, 19.3% wasting, and 32.1% underweight among children under five, indicating the urgent need for nutrition-centric policies and better implementation of welfare schemes.

Q5. How does the issue of food adulteration raise ethical concerns in public administration?

Ans. It highlights a failure of duty and moral responsibility among regulators and producers to protect public health, reflecting ethical lapses in enforcement, transparency, and consumer safety.

Source:IE