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APPSC FBO study materials
APPSC FBO study resources

APPSC FBO: Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Regulations

APPSC FBO · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Regulations

What this domain tests

The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is the umbrella statute that replaced the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 together with the Fruit Products Order 1955, Meat Food Products Order 1973, Milk and Milk Products Order 1992 and the edible-oil control orders. It came into force on 5 August 2011 and created FSSAI - a body corporate with a Chairperson, up to 22 members and a Chief Executive Officer - supported by Scientific Panels, a Scientific Committee and a Central Advisory Committee. Papers test institutional structure, key definitions, licensing tiers and the penalty ladder.

Core rules

  • No food business may operate without registration or licence: petty businesses (turnover up to Rs 12 lakh a year) register with the local body; medium units take a State licence; large units, importers and businesses operating in two or more States take a Central licence.
  • Section 26 lists FBO duties: hygiene, truthful labelling and claims, recall of unsafe batches, and records.
  • Operational standards sit in regulations - Food Products Standards and Food Additives; Labelling and Display, 2020; Licensing and Registration, 2011; Packaging, 2018; Contaminants, Toxins and Residues; Hygiene.
  • Penalties: sub-standard food up to Rs 5 lakh; misbranded food up to Rs 3 lakh; misleading advertisement up to Rs 10 lakh; extraneous matter up to Rs 1 lakh; carrying on business without a licence up to six months imprisonment and Rs 5 lakh.

Worked example

A ghee pack is labelled "pure, preservative-free" but contains TBHQ, a permitted antioxidant. Two charges are possible: misbranding (label not compliant with the Labelling Regulations) and misleading advertisement (the claim creates a false belief about the article). The examiner wants both identified, with the claim-specific, heavier penalty selected.

Traps that cost marks

  • Mixing up sub-standard (fails a prescribed standard), unsafe (injurious to health) and misbranded (label or claim defect).
  • Believing only the PFA Act was repealed - the 2006 Act absorbed several commodity orders.
  • Assuming FSSAI itself registers small retailers; that route is through local bodies.