Garhwal Post Bureau
Chandigarh, 18 Feb: Amarjit Singh, former Additional Director, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs-cum-Controller, Legal Metrology and Enforcement, Punjab, has described food adulteration in India as a “silent public health catastrophe” and called for it to be declared a national emergency.
In an interaction with Garhwal Post, Singh called upon the Government of India to launch a coordinated national mission against food adulteration on the lines of the awareness and enforcement campaigns undertaken during COVID-19 and in tackling cybercrime.
Presently President of Public Against Adulteration Welfare Association (PAAWA) and VOX-JUSTA, and Chief Executive Officer of Legal Clinique, Singh expressed grave concern over what he termed a systemic collapse of food safety governance. He is also the author of the forthcoming book “Constitutional & Legal Rights of Women in India”, scheduled for release next month.
Responding to a question by Garhwal Post on the seriousness of the present crisis, Singh stated that adulteration has moved far beyond sporadic violations and has become organised, chemical-driven and profit-oriented. According to him, the damage caused by adulterated and substandard food is slow and cumulative, often manifesting after years, particularly among children and elderly persons. He maintained that despite repeated representations from civil society, no nationwide mission or sustained awareness drive comparable to those witnessed during the pandemic has been initiated to address food adulteration, which he characterised as a major policy failure.
In response to a query about possible preventive measures in schools, Singh observed that directives such as the installation of Oil Boards and Sugar Boards largely remain confined to official files. He claimed there is little monitoring or accountability to ensure compliance, resulting in continued consumption of ultra-processed and unhealthy food by children within and outside school campuses without adequate warnings.
On the issue of food labelling, Singh informed Garhwal Post that front-of-pack labelling norms in India are, in his view, misleading and diluted. He alleged that policy frameworks tend to favour industry interests over public health, with warning symbols, colour codes and clear disclosures softened during formulation. Consequently, consumers are led to assume packaged food products are safe, while significant health risks remain obscured in fine print.
Highlighting substances that cause particular concern, Singh referred to the excessive use of monosodium glutamate, poor-quality palm oil, repeated use of cooking oil, synthetic colours and flavouring agents, and preservatives that are restricted in several countries. He further alleged unhygienic food preparation practices, chemical ripening of fruits and vegetables, and the use of hormones such as oxytocin and somatotropin. The large-scale application of pesticides, insecticides and other chemical agents in agriculture and storage, he added, is playing with the health of the masses.
Singh further shared with Garhwal Post that PAAWA has submitted detailed representations to the Government of India seeking stricter procurement standards for food grains and milk, mandatory residue testing, independent audits, free food testing facilities for the public and stronger prosecution mechanisms. However, he lamented that no tangible outcome report has so far been communicated.
Questioning official claims regarding food testing infrastructure, Singh expressed concern over the lack of transparency about the number and operational status of mobile food testing vans and laboratory capacities. He alleged that responses received under the RTI were evasive and fragmented and they further raised doubts about the effectiveness of enforcement. He also claimed that compliance reports relating to directions issued by higher courts to food authorities have not been adequately disclosed, creating apprehensions about regulatory inaction.
In response to a query by Garhwal Post on why adulteration continues unabated, Singh attributed it to mild penalties, infrequent prosecutions and insufficient enforcement resources, including laboratories, testing kits, Food Safety Officers and budgetary allocations. He described food adulteration as a low-risk, high-profit crime and stressed that this equation must be reversed through stringent and visible enforcement.
Drawing attention to emerging health patterns, Singh cited increasing instances of early-onset diabetes, fatty liver disease among teenagers, kidney and liver disorders, hormonal and fertility complications, rising cancer cases and abnormal growth among newborns. These, he asserted, are not isolated occurrences but indicative of a broader pattern linked to unsafe and contaminated food practices.
Calling for collective action, Singh emphasised that civil society, media organisations, medical professionals, educational institutions and vigilant citizens must work together to ensure accountability and systemic reform. Safe food, he stated to Garhwal Post, is not a privilege but a fundamental right of every citizen, and failure to act decisively at this stage would impose an even heavier disease burden on present and future generations.
