The Food and Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is shrinking. Less than a year after it forced Nestle to withdraw Maggi noodles from the market, the FSSAI has decided to move from a regime of enforcement to deregulation and self-compliance. Consequently, it is closing its sub-regional offices at Lucknow and Chandigarh and will, henceforth, conduct all its activities from its headquarters in New Delhi and the four regional offices. The move is aimed at changing the image of a food inspector as a nuisance for businesses and force those in the food industry to go in for self-testing. While this will significantly change the way the FSSAI functions, the question that hangs in the air is will it ensure better compliance with the law? The mandate of the FSSAI is to lay down science-based standards for articles and foods and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution and sale with the job of conducting inspections and regulation falling on state-level FDA units. In the long run this makes better sense as it will avoid an overlap of duties and leave the FSSAI free to set standards.
