There are various prescribed offenses and penalties under FSSAI Act. FSSAI lays down several rules and regulations under FSSAI Act for the food business operators to follow the guidelines. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of FSSAI to handle food-related issues with ease. Not only acquiring FSSAI food license and FSSAI food registration is enough, but food business operators should mandatorily follow the set of compliances laid out by the apex food regulatory body, FSSAI.
The fundamental reason behind the establishment of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(generally regarded as FSSAI) under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006[1] was to monitor and look after the manufacture, sale, storage, distribution, as well as the import of articles of food and to ensure that the wholesome food is safe for human consumption.
Thus, FSSAI defined a number of offenses and penalties under FSSAI Act for those food business owners or operators who won’t be complying with FSSAI Act guidelines.
Read our article:Who needs FSSAI Registration? Is FSSAI Registration Mandatory?
Penalties under FSSAI Act for Offences by Different Forms of Companies
The FSSAI Act has clearly directed the penalties under FSSAI Act for offenses made by One Person Company, Private Limited Company, or Limited Company.
- If a company has committed an offense under FSSAI Act, during the offense, all the people who were responsible to or who were handling the charge of the company, responsible for overseeing the company’s business along with the company would be considered guilty must get proceeded against and get the duly punishment.
- If a company has multiple branches or establishments or different units in any branch or establishment, then the concerned head of such branch or establishment looking after the food safety, chosen by the company, must be legally responsible for branch, unit, or establishment.
- If a company has committed an offense and by any means, if it gets proved that the reason behind the commitment of the offense is the negligence of Manager, Director, secretary or rest of the officers that are working for the company and these people have given their nod for the commitment of offense either deliberately or non-deliberately, then such Manager, Director, or other official people would be considered as guilty for such an offense and would receive the punishment as well.
Penalties under FSSAI Act for Misbranded and Sub-Standard Food
- If any person either himself or by another person on his behalf is involved in manufacturing, storing, selling, distributing, as well as importing any misbranded food for human consumption, he would have to pay a penalty which may reach up to the Rs three lakh.
- The person found guilty of committing an offense under this section would get issued a direction from the office of Adjudicating Officer in order to follow required corrective measures to bring correction in the mistakes, or such food material must get destroyed.
- If any person either himself or by another person on his behalf is into manufacture for sale or distribution or stores or imports of food material sub-standard in nature for consumption by a human, he will be liable to a penalty which may reach up to Rs five lakh.
Punishment Regarding Unsafe Food
If any person either himself or by another person on his behalf manufactures for the purpose of selling, storing, distributing or importing food articles or items for human consumption which is not safe, then such a person shall be punishable-
- If his failure or non-compliance with the rules does not cause any injury, he may get imprisoned for six months duration, and fines imposed on him may extend to Rs one lakh.
- If his failure or non-compliance with the rules leads to a grievous injury, he may get imprisoned for six years duration, and fines imposed on him may extend to Rs five lakh.
- If his failure or non-compliance with the rules causes an injury of non-grievous nature, he may get imprisoned for a period of up to one year, and fines imposed on him may extend to Rs three lakh.
- If his failure or non-compliance leads to death, he shall get imprisoned for a period of up to seven years, and fines imposed on him won’t be less than Rs ten lakh. Also, his imprisonment may get extended for a lifetime.
Penalties under FSSAI Act for Running a Food Business without FSSAI License
If any person or FBO (except those who got an exemption from licensing under Section 31(2) of FSSAI Act), either himself or by another person on his behalf, who is in need of acquiring the license, sells, manufactures, distributes or imports or stores any food article without a license or in a different way we can say carrying business without FSSAI license, shall get imprisoned for a duration up to six months along with a fine which may touch the figure of Rs five lakh.
Penalties under FSSAI Act for Unhygienic Processing or Manufacturing of Food and Food Containing Extrinsic Matter
- If any person either himself or by another person on his behalf processes or manufactures any foodstuff for human consumption under an unhygienic environment, then he would have to pay the Penalty that may extend to Rs one lakh.
- If any person either himself or by another person on his behalf manufactures with the intent to sell, store or distribute or import any food article containing extraneous matter for consumption by a human, then Penalty of up to Rs one lakh might get imposed on him.
Penalties under FSSAI Act for Selling Food without Meeting the Buyer Demand for Quality or Substance
- If a person or a food business operator is selling food to the purchaser without complying with the FSSAI Act provisions or the guidelines prescribed in the Act, or without meeting the requirements of the purchaser for substance or quality of food, then the penalty imposed on him won’t be exceeding Rs. Five lakh.
- Also, those people who got covered under Section 31- subsection 2 for such non-compliance shall be liable to a penalty not more than Rs. Twenty Five Thousand.
Bottom Line
It’s mandatory for all the FBOs to adhere to the FSSAI Act guidelines in order to avoid the burden of penalties under FSSAI Act. In addition to this, they should have access to detailed knowledge regarding the offenses and penalties. At Corpbiz, we always find bliss in assisting our clients by helping them obtain an FSSAI food business license and also guide them in many ways.
Read our article:Enforcement of the FSS ACT – An Overview
