Navratri is a season of devotion and celebration, but it often brings a troubling annual pattern: cases of food-related illness linked to fasting foods. This year, nearly 200 people in north-west Delhi fell ill after consuming buckwheat flour, or kuttu atta, which replaces grains like wheat and rice during fasting. Though all patients remained stable and no severe case was reported, the incident highlights persistent gaps in India’s food safety oversight.
Kuttu atta is popular during festivals but is rarely consumed otherwise for a simple reason—it spoils quickly. Unlike wheat or rice, ground buckwheat has a shelf life of barely three months. Retailers, unwilling to bear losses, often mix stale flour with fresh batches, exposing consumers to adulterated food. Freshly ground flour poses no harm, but negligence in storage and sale makes the product a health hazard.
READ | RBI monetary policy signals cautious optimism
Weak oversight of food safety measures
Police alerts and food department checks followed the Delhi incident. But these steps were reactive, not preventive. The first line of defence remains with shopkeepers who must avoid selling rancid flour, and consumers who must demand packaged flour with clear expiry dates or ask for kuttu giri (whole grain) to grind fresh. The episode exposes once again how India’s food safety system is built on weak safeguards and after-the-fact interventions.
The buckwheat scare is not an exception—it is part of a broader malaise. Adulteration plagues staples from milk, oils, and spices to vegetables and packaged snacks. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has admitted that nearly 30% of tested samples in recent years were either substandard or adulterated. Worse, much of this is deliberate, driven by profit in a fragmented, poorly monitored supply chain.
Everyday practices illustrate the risks: milk diluted with starch and water, mustard oil blended with cheaper substitutes, vegetables coated with chemical dyes to appear fresh. The short-term effects are food poisoning, but the long-term damage includes kidney failure, liver disorders, and even cancer.
Food adulteration is not just a public health issue; it extracts a heavy economic cost. The WHO estimates foodborne diseases cost low- and middle-income countries $110 billion annually in productivity losses and healthcare expenses. India, with its vast informal food economy, bears a significant share of this burden. Frequent hospitalisations, lost workdays, and reduced productivity add up to far greater costs than the quick profits that vendors earn by adulterating food.
Regulatory gaps and corruption
India does have a regulatory framework. The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 created the FSSAI as the apex authority. But enforcement remains dismal. Inspections are irregular, food safety officers are few, and penalties rarely deter repeat offenders. Small vendors and kirana stores often escape oversight altogether. In many states, corruption further weakens enforcement, with offenders evading punishment through money or connections.
The gap is starker when compared to global practice. The European Union has farm-to-fork traceability norms, Singapore mandates barcoding and digital tracking for high-risk foods, and the US invests in routine inspections backed by legal deterrence. India lags on all three counts—traceability, inspection frequency, and deterrence. These lessons are not impossible to adapt; they require political will and budgetary commitment.
Packaged food and e-commerce challenge
The problem is not limited to local vendors. India’s fast-expanding packaged food sector and online grocery delivery platforms have also been flagged for lapses in labelling, false shelf-life claims, and the circulation of counterfeit products. As more consumers shift to packaged goods and doorstep deliveries, the oversight challenge is moving into new, less-regulated territory. FSSAI and state food departments have been slow to catch up with this trend.
What India needs is systemic reform. Food products—especially high-risk ones like flour, milk, and oils—should carry QR-coded traceability systems, much like batch numbers in pharmaceuticals. Consumers and regulators should be able to verify sourcing, shelf life, and supply chains instantly. Low-cost sensors and mobile testing kits could also be deployed in local markets to detect contaminants in real time.
The deterrents too must be sharper. For deliberate adulteration with toxic substances, penalties should extend to criminal prosecution and cancellation of business licenses, not just small fines or temporary suspensions.
Food safety cuts across agriculture, trade, policing, and health. An inter-ministerial task force—linking the FSSAI, state food departments, and law enforcement—could help plug the gaps. Courts too have stepped in from time to time, with consumer protection laws and public-interest litigations bringing adulterators to book. But reliance on judicial activism is not a substitute for steady enforcement.
Role of consumer vigilance
Consumers also need better awareness. Campaigns cannot stop at posters or websites. Local TV channels, WhatsApp groups, and community health workers should spread information about shelf life, adulteration tricks, and safe practices. Informed buyers are more likely to hold vendors accountable.
India has moved from food scarcity to sufficiency. The next step is food safety and nutrition security. Unsafe food is not only a health risk but also an economic and governance issue. Productivity losses, healthcare costs, and loss of trust in food markets outweigh the marginal profits made by adulterators.
Festivals like Navratri are meant to be celebrations of faith and community. India must ensure they do not become annual reminders of how unsafe food continues to slip through the cracks of regulation.