Festive Alert: FSSAI Cracks Down on Khoya, Paneer, Meat & Fish Supply

With the festive season driving consumer demand to peak levels across India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has cracked down on improper storage and unhygienic transportation of high-risk perishable food commodities. The apex food regulator issued a detailed advisory to all Food Business Operators (FBOs) handling essentials such as khoya, paneer, raw meat, poultry, and fish, cautioning that lapses in preserving temperature-controlled environments will invite immediate regulatory seizure and destruction. Emphasizing that compromised storage enables rapid microbial contamination, the authority directed state food safety administrations, Indian Railways, and municipal enforcement squads to execute synchronized inspections across wholesale distribution mandis, dairy hubs, and cold-storage facilities.Strict Cold-Chain Mandate: Zero Tolerance for Temperature SpoilageThe regulatory watchdog flagged common transport deficiencies that jeopardize consumer health during peak festivities:High Spoilage Vulnerability: FSSAI highlighted that high-moisture perishables—notably dairy derivatives like khoya and paneer, alongside fresh meat and fish—are frequently transported in open, non-refrigerated vehicles, triggering bacterial proliferation and rapid food rot.Mandatory Temperature Regimes: Food traders and logistics aggregators must maintain specified sub-zero and chilled temperature thresholds without interruption throughout the entire supply cycle, from dairy procurement points to the end-consumer delivery counter.Statutory Compliance Under Schedule-4: The directive reminds operators that failing to enforce prescribed hygiene and refrigeration standards constitutes a direct violation of Schedule-4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.Covered Transit and Packaging: Traceability Records Made MandatoryThe advisory introduces rigorous logistics protocols to seal loopholes in wholesale and retail transit:Enclosed Vehicles Only: All perishable consignments must be transported exclusively in clean, fully covered, and sanitized vehicles, strictly barring open trucks or exposed two-wheeler carriages.Contamination Shields: FBOs must utilize certified food-grade packaging to protect consignments from road dust, environmental humidity, insect infestation, and cross-contamination with non-food freight during loading, transit, and unloading.Mandatory Paper Trail: Traders, wholesalers, and manufacturers are mandated to preserve comprehensive shipment manifests, including physical bills, batch invoices, and transport logs, to guarantee swift backward and forward traceability in cases of contaminated consignments.Nationwide Raids and Seizures: State Enforcement Wings Put on High AlertThe central regulator has empowered local and regional enforcement machineries to execute prompt punitive measures:Multi-Agency Surveillance: State Food Safety Commissioners, Regional Directors of FSSAI, and Indian Railways catering inspection officers have been directed to deploy mobile testing laboratories and flying squads at interstate border checkposts and major rail parcel terminals.Confiscation and On-Spot Destruction: Licensing authorities and food safety officers have been granted full statutory powers to intercept sub-standard food shipments, confiscate non-compliant batches, and carry out immediate on-site destruction of contaminated sweets, adulterated dairy items, and spoiled meat.Public Health Priority: The enforcement sweep aims to safeguard millions of families during upcoming Diwali and festive gatherings by eliminating counterfeit, synthetic, and poorly preserved food items from local sweet shops and grocery markets.