The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006
CHAPTER VI: SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AS TO FOOD SAFETY
Section 27: Liability Of The Manufacturers, Packers, Wholesalers, Distributors And Sellers
Bare Act
(1) The manufacturer or packer of an article of food shall be liable for such article of food if it does not meet the requirements of this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder.
(2) The wholesaler or distributor shall be liable under this Act for any article of food which is -
- (a) supplied after the date of its expiry;
- (b) stored or supplied in violation of the safety instructions of the manufacturer;
- (c) unsafe or misbranded;
- (d) unidentifiable of manufacturer from whom the article of food have been received;
- (e) stored or handled or kept in violation of the provisions of this Act, the rules and regulations made thereunder;
- (f) received by him with knowledge of being unsafe.
(3) The seller shall be liable under this Act for any article of food which is -
- (a) sold after the date of its expiry;
- (b) handled or kept in unhygienic conditions;
- (c) misbranded;
- (d) unidentifiable of the manufacturer or the distributors from whom such articles of food were received;
- (e) received by him with knowledge of being unsafe.
Simplified Act
(1) If a company makes or packages food, they are responsible for making sure it meets the law's standards. If it doesn't, they're in trouble.
(2) A wholesaler or distributor will be held responsible for any food that:
- (a) is given out after its expiration date;
- (b) is stored or given out against the manufacturer's safety guidelines;
- (c) is not safe to eat or is wrongly labeled;
- (d) can't be traced… Read the complete text with KanoonGPT Pro.
Explanation using examples
Imagine a local bakery that produces and sells bread. One day, it is discovered that the bread contains a harmful preservative that is not permitted under the Food Safety and Standards Act. According to Section 27(1), the bakery, as the manufacturer, would be liable for producing food that does not meet the Act's requirements.
Further, if a supermarket chain receives this bread and sells it past its expiry date, the supermarket, as per Section 27(2)(a) and Section 27(3)(a), would be liable for supplying and selling expired food products.
Moreover, if a street vendor buys the bread from the supermarket and keeps it in unsanitary conditions before selling it, the vendor would be liable under Section 27(3)(b) for handling and keeping the food in unhygienic conditions.
