The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which had conducted a nationwide survey on edible oils in August, said out of the 4461 samples collected about 2.42 per cent samples were found to be non-compliant with safety standards.
Samples were collected of 15 different type of edible oils between August 25-27, including mustard oil, coconut oil, palm oil, blended oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, groundnut oil, canola oil, rice bran oil, sesame oil, corn oil, flaxseed oil among others from 587 districts by food safety office across the country.These included branded, packaged as well as loose edible oils samples.
“The results from this survey indicated that out of 4461 picked samples, 2.42 per cent (108) samples were non-compliant on account of safety parameters, which included the presence of aflatoxins, pesticide residues and heavy metals at levels higher than those prescribed by Food Standards and Safety Regulations (FSSR),” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
Substandard quality
It added that about 1080 samples or 24.2 per cent were found to be sub-standard and non-compliant in terms of quality parameters indicating possible adulteration or blending with other oils. “1080 samples were non-compliant with respect to presence of hydrocyanic acid, and failure to meet the prescribed limits of refractive index, BR reading, fatty acid profile, iodine value, etc. across States/ UTs and oil types,” it added.
Other non-compliances observed in relation to quality were failure to meet the shelf-life standards and prescribed standards of additives.
False fortificant claims
In terms of label misbranding, 572 samples were found to be non-compliant on fortificants claims like presence of vitamin A and vitamin D, it added.
In September the regulator had held a meeting with state officials to discuss the key findings of the survey and sensitise stakeholders about safety and quality concerns associated with different oils.
“All States/UTs are being asked to intensify enforcement drives to prevent adulteration in oils. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Ministry of Food Processing Industries are being requested to integrate their efforts in eliminating the problem of contaminants through implementation of good agricultural practices and/or safe handling or processing technique,” FSSAI stated.