The Maharashtra government has taken legal action against the Union health ministry and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, asserting that the food regulator has encroached on state authorities' powers.
The Maharashtra government, through its Food Safety Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, filed a petition at the Bombay High Court against the Union health ministry and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The petition alleges that FSSAI has created a parallel enforcement system, which the state claims encroaches upon the powers of Maharashtra's food safety authorities. According to The Indian Express, this petition challenges an FSSAI order issued in 2023, which restricts Maharashtra's officials from enforcing food safety laws at businesses holding a central licence.
The state government argues that the 2006 Food Safety and Standards Act was designed to decentralise food safety enforcement, with state commissioners and their officials responsible for enforcing the law. Maharashtra alleges that FSSAI has 'usurped' the power of state authorities by appointing central licensing authorities and central food safety officers.
Maharashtra also contests changes made by FSSAI in March to the turnover limits determining whether food businesses require registration, a state license or a central license. The state asserts that these changes were implemented without prior public consultation.
A bench led by Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi on Friday scheduled the hearing of the petition for November 26.
The legal action follows a statewide drive by the department against eateries and other establishments accused of violating food safety norms.
Source:
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