Act Number: 34

Act Name: The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

Year: 2006

Enactment Date: 2006-08-23

Long Title: An Act to consolidate the laws relating to food and to establish the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Ministry: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Department: Department of Health and Family Welfare

Section 26: Responsibilities of the food business operator.
    (1) Every food business operator shall ensure that the articles of food satisfy the requirements of this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder at all stages of production, processing, import, distribution and sale within the businesses under his control.
     (2) No food business operator shall himself or by any person on his behalf manufacture, store, sell or distribute any article of food--
         (i) which is unsafe; or
         (ii) which is misbranded or sub-standard or contains extraneous matter; or
         (iii) for which a licence is required, except in accordance with the conditions of the licence; or
         (iv) which is for the time being prohibited by the Food Authority or the Central Government or the State Government in the interest of public health; or
         (v) in contravention of any other provision of this Act or of any rule or regulation made thereunder.
     (3) No food business operator shall employ any person who is suffering from infectious, contagious or loathsome disease.
     (4) No food business operator shall sell or offer for sale any article of food to any vendor unless he also gives a guarantee in writing in the form specified by regulations about the nature and quality of such article to the vendor:
     Provided that a bill, cash memo, or invoice in respect of the sale of any article of food given by a food business operator to the vendor shall be deemed to be a guarantee under this section, even if a guarantee in the specified form is not included in the bill, cash memo or invoice.
     (5) Where any food which is unsafe is part of a batch, lot or consignment of food of the same class or description, it shall be presumed that all the food in that batch, lot or consignment is also unsafe, unless following a detailed assessment within a specified time, it is found that there is no evidence that the rest of the batch, lot or consignment is unsafe:
     Provided that any conformity of a food with specific provisions applicable to that food shall be without prejudice to the competent authorities taking appropriate measures to impose restrictions on that food being placed on the market or to require its withdrawal from the market for the reasons to be recorded in writing where such authorities suspect that, despite the conformity, the food is unsafe.
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