Food safety
Enforcement advisoryFSSAI’s festive food-safety drive: a practical readiness check
A 29 September advisory calls for intensified inspections and sampling during the festive season, covering foods including sweets, dairy products, savouries and beverages.
- Source published
- Source reviewed
- Brief published
The update
FSSAI has asked state and regional authorities to step up inspections and sampling during the Navratri and Diwali season. Its advisory dated 29 September identifies sweets, milk products, savouries, edible oils and beverages among foods requiring attention. Regional priorities may differ according to local eating patterns.
For manufacturers, caterers, retailers and quality teams, the useful question is simple: can your business show how each batch was sourced, handled and checked?
The following is an editorial readiness checklist. It is not a list of new legal obligations introduced by the advisory.
Review sourcing and traceability
Start with the incoming material. Review supplier details, ingredient specifications and delivery records. Where a supplier, ingredient or process has changed, consider whether existing checks still address the relevant risks. A file of certificates is most useful when each document can be connected to the material actually received.
Next, follow a batch through production and dispatch. Can the team identify its ingredients, processing records, storage history and customers? Test that process with a real batch rather than relying only on the written procedure.
Keep day-to-day controls clear
Review day-to-day controls with the people doing the work. Check how teams record cleaning, storage conditions and unusual observations during busy shifts. Make sure staff know whom to contact when a delivery or product does not meet the agreed specification.
Testing decisions should reflect the product, its risks and the purpose of the result. Discuss the appropriate parameters, sampling approach and reporting needs with a competent laboratory; a generic test package may not answer the question you need resolved.
What this means for readers
For consumers, the wider takeaway is to keep purchase details and raise specific concerns through the appropriate official channel. For businesses, preparing clear records before peak demand makes problems easier to investigate and decisions easier to explain.
Read the original source
FSSAI: special festive food-safety drive ↗This brief is a summary. The official source takes precedence; requirements and guidance may change after the review date.