The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954

Food adulteration is the addition of contaminants into food items or beverages to increase the quantity and decrease the price of the commodity. It is a major issue in India which lowers the quality of food and leads to serious illnesses in both humans and animals.

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To curb these problems, it was necessary to form laws that could prevent such contamination. In India, since 1899, the food adulteration laws have been in legislation. Since it was the pre-independence era, states and provinces had their own rules and regulations for the prevention of food adulteration. Some of those acts are –

• The Calcutta Municipal Act, 1923
• The UP Pure Food Act, 1950
• The Punjab Pure Food Act, 1929
• The Bihar Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1948

These state or province-specific acts had different laws and regulations that did not have any uniformity. This created a barrier for interstate food promotion and transportation. There was a difference between the methods of analysis, punishment, implementation and standards. This made way for a more centrally organised law for the prevention of food adulteration.

Eventually, the Government of India approved the Food Adulteration Committee in 1943. The committee studied and reviewed the subject of Food Adulteration and hence advised for a central legislation. Thus, the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) finally came into force in 1954.

The Act: Features

The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 extends to the entire country of India and it came into effect on June 15th, 1955. The act defines adulteration or deems an item to be adulterated when –

• If the item sold by the vendor does not meet the standards of the customer or the standards the article purports to be.
• If the item contains any element that lowers the quality of the article.
• If the article has been manufactured or stored in unhygienic conditions.
• If the item contains any element that is unfit for human consumption such as putrid, decomposed or rotten plant or animal substances.
• If the article contains an element taken from a diseased animal.
• If the article contains any poisonous or injurious substances.
• If the container of the article is made up from any injurious substance.
• If any colouring agent other than the prescribed ones are added in the article.
• If the article consists of any prohibited preservative or preservative quantity above the prescribed limit.
• If the quality and purity of the article does not meet the standards set by the committee whether it is injurious or non-injurious to health.

Note: Under this act, vendors can also opt for enrichment of items such as iodisation of salt, adding minerals and vitamins to breads or cereals, and addition of vitamin C.

Table of Adulterants

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Adulterant