FSSAI warns against sale of contaminated food

Chennai: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has warned businesses and consumers against the sale and consumption of contaminated food after it received an alert from the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) about the alleged contamination of infant milk formula with Salmonella Agona.

As per the country's apex food regulator (FSSAI) notice, there was no report of any import of the contaminated infant formula product to India, yet there could be a possibility of this product reaching the consumers through online sales or by other means. Hence, a notice has been issued to the public and various stakeholders, so that any inadvertent consumption of the infected products is avoided.

Meanwhile, it has come to the notice of the FSSAI that creatine monohydrate (used as a product or an ingredient) is being manufactured, imported and sold illegally by various companies and e-commerce platforms under different brand names with or without a valid FSSAI license number. No standards have been prescribed so far under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 for creatine monohydrate.

The regulator issued a letter mentioning the details of companies and sellers, including e-commerce sites to food safety commissioners of  States and Union Territories (UTs) and authorised officers to keep a check on the sale of such products, by inspecting the premises of the firms and verify if any product having creatine monohydrate is being manufactured, stored or sold by firms.