FROM FRAGMENTATION TO CONSOLIDATION: EVOLUTION OF FOOD SAFETY LAWS IN INDIA (1954–2006)

AUTHOR – GAURAV KUMAR* & MR. ANUJ SETHI**

* STUDENT AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY

** ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY

BEST CITATION – GAURAV KUMAR & MR. ANUJ SETHI, FROM FRAGMENTATION TO CONSOLIDATION: EVOLUTION OF FOOD SAFETY LAWS IN INDIA (1954–2006), INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (8) OF 2026, PG. 01-05, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344. DOI – https://doi.org/10.65393/IJLRV6I851

Abstract

The Indian food safety regulation has gone through remarkable change of a disjointed legal framework with a holistic framework in place. The food safety methods were, initially, controlled by the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, under which the approach of food safety was mainly reactive, where measures were taken to punish the cases of adulteration instead of setting up of comprehensive food safety provisions. With time, several laws arose and overlaps as well as difficulty in enforcing them arose and caused inconsistencies. The government, after realizing these shortcomings, came up with Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, that was aimed at integrating the other food related laws into one umbrella and setting up of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The paper reviews how the laws governing food safety in India have changed throughout the years with a focus on the shift in the various legislative systems to a cohesive regulatory framework. It also measures how effective such changes have been to deal with modern food safety issues and safeguard the health of the population in India.