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Scientific panels set up by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have been reconstituted earlier this month with only independent scientific experts on them, following a recent directive from the Supreme Court.
The composition of these panels — that deal with regulatory issues such as pesticide and antibiotic residues in food, genetically modified organisms, functional foods, nutraceuticals and biological hazards – had been challenged in the Supreme Court by the Centre for Public Interest. Their contention was that “some members of the panel appointed by the Food Authority are not independent scientific expert and their appointment is not in consonance with Section 13 (1) of the Food Safety and Standards Act.”
The reconstitution of scientific panels with only independent experts and not representatives of the industry has been done in compliance with the Apex Court's order, an FSSAI source confirmed. The earlier committee had representatives from large food and consumer goods majors such as PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Marico, Hindustan Unilever, Britannia and ITC.
Explaining the rationale behind the Public Interest Litigation that lead to the directive, Mr Prashant Bhushan, lawyer for the petitioner, told Business Line that regulatory bodies should not have industry representatives as that brings in a conflict of interest. The judgment of a regulatory committee could be influenced by industry representatives, he said.
The original composition of the scientific panels had come under the scanner, in the course of a petition related to chemical additives in soft drinks, when the FSSAI said that the scientific panel would look into concerns that were being raised, he said.
Responding to a query that industry representatives could bring to the table scientific knowledge that may not be in public domain, Mr Bhushan clarified, that the scientific committees could take industry opinion, but the final regulatory decision should be made from the point of view of public interest.
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