Nearly 28 percent of the food samples tested for quality were found to be adulterated, according to the 2018-19 annual report of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
The FSSAI data analysed by CNBC-TV18 indicates a consistent rise in instances of food adulteration in the country.
Out of the 1,06,459 food samples analysed by the National Accreditation Board for Testing & Calibration Laboratories in 2018-19, 28.56 percent were found to be non-conforming.
The proportion of adulterated or misbranded food sold in India has nearly doubled in the last 8 years.
In the year 2012-13, 15 percent of the food samples tested were found to be non-conforming to prescribed standards.
The FSSAI splits these non-conforming samples into three categories – unsafe, sub-standard and those with labeling defects.
A large chunk of the samples analysed by the FSSAI public labs falls under the sub-standard category.
It is imperative to note that this data does not mean that 28 percent of all the food sold in India is adulterated.
The food safety officers in each state regularly collect random samples of milk, water, packaged food among other categories to check for quality.
In 2017-18, about 25 percent of the food samples of the total 99,353 were found to be non-conforming.
An analysis of the latest annual report shows that 52.32 percent of the samples sourced in Uttar Pradesh have been found to be non-conforming.
“The percentage of substandard samples also depends on the food safety compliance levels in a state and indicates the need for even more effective action,” FSSAI told CNBC-TV18.India’s food safety regulator says it has been encouraging states to keep a strict tab on the food available.