Food Adultration and Punishment

Food Adultration

The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 aims at making provisions for the prevention of adulteration of food. The Act extends to the whole of India and came into force on 1st June 1955.

What is adulterated food?

An article of food shall be deemed to be adulterated –

1. if the article sold by a vendor is not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser or which it purports to be;
2. if the article contains any substance affecting its quality or of it is so processed as to injuriously affect its nature, substance or quality;
3. if any inferior or cheaper substance has been substituted wholly or partly for the article, or any constituent of the article has been wholly or partly abstracted from it, so as to affecting its quality or of it is so processed as to injuriously affect its nature, substance or quality;
4. if the article had been prepared, packed or kept under insanitary conditions whereby it has become contaminated or injurious to health;
5. if the article consists wholly or in part of any filthy, putrid, disgusting, rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance or being insect-infested, or is otherwise unfit for human consumption;
6.  if the article is obtained from a diseased animal;
7.  if the article contains any poisonous or other ingredient which is injurious to health;
8. if the container of the article is composed of any poisonous or deleterious substance which renders its contents injurious to health;
9.  if the article contains any prohibited coloring matter or preservative, or any permitted coloringmatter or preservative in excess of the prescribed limits;
10. if the quality or purity of the article falls below the prescribed standard, or its constituents are present in proportions other standard, or its constituents are present in proportions other than those prescribed, whether or not rendering it injurious to health.

Thus, additions of water to milk amount to adulteration, within the meaning of sub-clauses (b) or (c).

When are foods misbranded

An article of food shall be deemed to be misbranded-

1. if it is an imitation of, or is a substitute for, or resembles in a manner likely to deceive, another article of food, and is not conspicuously labeled so as to indicate its true character,
2.  if it is falsely stated to be the product of any place or country,
3.  if it is sold by a name which belongs to another article of food,
4. if it is so colored, flavored, coated, powdered or polished as to conceal any damage to the article or to appear of greater value than it really is,
5. if false claims are made for it upon the label or otherwise,
6.  if, when sold in sealed or prepared packages by its manufacturer, the contents of each package are not conspicuously and correctly stated on the outside thereof;
7.  if the package containing it is deceptive with respect to its contents, in any manner, such as label, statement, design or device which is misleading,
8.  if the package containing it, or the label thereon, bears the name of a fictitious individual or company as the manufacturer or producer of the article,
9.  if it purports to be, or is represented as being for special dietary uses, unless its label bears the prescribed information concerning its dietary properties,
10. if it contains any artificial flavoring, coloring or chemical preservatives without declaring the same on the label, or in violation of the requirements of this Act and the Rules madethereunder, and
11. if it is not labeled in accordance with the requirements of this Act and the Rules madethereunder.

Preservative: means a substance which when added to food, is capable of inhibiting, retarding or arresting the process of fermentation, acidification or other decomposition of food.

Prohibitions and Restrictions

Prohibition on The Manufacture, Sale, Etc. Of Certain Food Articles

No person shall manufacture, store, sell or distribute

1. any adulterated food,
2. any misbranded food,
3. food articles to be sold under license without fulfilling the conditions of the license,
4. any food article the sale of which is prohibited by the Food (Health) Authority in the interest of public health,
5. any food article in contravention of any other provision of the Act or the Rules, (see ‘Conditions for Sale’) or
6. any adulterant.

The act of storing an adulterated article of food would be an offence only if storing is for sale. The sale of a part of the stored article constitutes an offence distinct and independent from the offence of storing for sale.

Prohibition on Use Of Certain Expressions While Labeling of Edible Oils And Fats

The package, label or the advertisement of edible oils and fats shall not use the expressions Super-Refined, Extra-Refined, Micro-Refined, Double-Refined, Ultra-Refined, Anti-Cholesterol, Cholesterol Fighter, Soothing to Heart, Cholesterol Friendly, Saturated Fat Free or such other expressions which are exaggerations of the quality of the product. (Rule 37 D).

Prohibition on Sale Of Certain Admixtures

For example, cream which has not been prepared exclusively from milk, milk which contains any added water, ghee which contains any added matter not exclusively derived from milk fat, a mixture of two or more edible oils as an edible oil and turmeric containing any foreign substances, etc. (Rule 44)

Prohibition on Use of Acetylene Gas (carbide gas) in artificially ripening of fruits (Rule 44 AA).

Prohibition on Sale of Food Articles Coated With Mineral Oil, except in accordance with the permitted standards. (Rule 44 AAA and Appendix B).

Restriction on Sale of Ghee having less than specified Reichert value except under the "AGMARK" seal. (Rule 46).

Prohibition on Sale of Admixtures of Ghee or Butter or on its use as an ingredient in the preparation of an article of food. (Rule 46).

Any food item resembling honey, but not pure honey, shall not be marked "honey". (Rule 45).

Restriction on Sale of Kangra Tea except only after it is graded and marked in accordance with the provisions of Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marketing) Act, 1937 and the Rules madethereunder. (Rule 44E).

Conditions for Sale of Flavored Tea only by those manufacturers. Who are registered with Tea Board and the package bearing the label, ‘FLAVOURED TEA’ (Common name of permitted flavor, percentage and Registration No.). (Rule 44G).

Restriction on Sale of Common Salt No person shall, sell or offer or expose for sale or have in his premises for the purpose of sale, common salt for direct human consumption unless the same isiodized. (Rule 44H).

Restriction on Use and Sale of Artificial Sweeteners except that saccharin sodium can be added to carbonated water, supari, pan masala and pan flavoring material within the specified maximum limit and aspertaine may be sold for diabetic use under medical advice. (Rule 47).

Prohibition on Sale of Permitted Food Colors, i.e. Synthetic colors, or their mixtures or any preparation of such colors, except under a license. (Rule 48A).

Prohibition on Sale of Permitted Food Additives, except only under the ISI certification marks.(Rule 48C).

Prohibition on Use of Coumarin and Dihydro Cocumarin, Tankabean (Dipteryl Adorat) and B-Asarane And Cinamyl Authracilate, as flavoring agents. Any extraneous addition of flavoringagent should be mentioned on the label attached to any package of food so flavored, in capital letters in the following manner:

"CONTAINS ADDED FLAVOR"

Restriction on Use of Preservatives

 Addition of Class I preservatives i.e. Common Salt, Sugar, Dextrose, Glucose (syrup), Spices, Vinegar or acetic acid, honey and edible vegetable oil, in any food is not restricted, provided that the food article to which the preservative has been added conforms to the specifications laid down in Appendix B.

Class II preservatives such as Benzoic acid and its salts, sodium diacetate and sodium, potassium and calcium salts of lactic acid, etc. can be used only restrictively. Use of more than one Class II preservative is prohibited.

Conditions for Sale of A Food Article,

Every utensil or container, used for manufacturing, preparing or containing any food or ingredientstherefore, and second hand tin containers for packaging of edible oils and fats, meant for sale, shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, away from impure air or dust, properly covered at all times, and such utensils or containers shall not be used for any other purpose. Use of rusty containers, improperly tinned copper or brass containers, containers of aluminum or plastic not conforming to ISI specifications, etc., in preparation of food, is also prohibited. Besides, certain special conditions for sale of certain articles such as asafoetida, salseed fat, lactic acid, edible oils,katha, margarine, milk powder, etc. have also been laid down.

With effect from 22.2.95, on person shall sell powdered spices except in packed form. No person shall sell or serve food in any commercial establishment in plastic articles used in catering and cutlery, unless the plastic material used in catering and cutlery articles, conform to the food grade plastic

 Purchaser May Have Food Analyzed

A purchaser of any article of food, or a recognized consumer association, may also get an article of food analyzed by the public analyst on payment of the prescribed fees, provided that the vendor is informed of this intended action at the time of purchase. Thereafter, the purchaser or the consumer associations, have to follow the same procedure as discussed above in the case of Food Inspectors. If the article of food is found to be adulterated, the fees paid by the purchaser or the association shall be refunded.

Offences and Penalties

• Import, manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of any food article which is adulterated by allowing its quality or purity to fall below the prescribed standard, or is misbranded, or in contravention of any provision of the Act or Rules. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of six months that may extend upto 3 years and minimum fine of Rs 1000.
• Import, manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of any adulterant not injurious to health. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of six months that may extend upto 3 years and minimum fine of Rs 1000
• Preventing a Food Inspector from taking a sample or exercising his powers. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of six months that may extend upto 3 years and minimum fine of Rs 1000
• Giving a false warranty in writing in respect of any food article. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of six months that may extend upto 3 years and minimum fine of Rs 1000
• Import, manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of any food article which is adulterated within the meaning of any of the sub-clauses (e) to (l) of section 2(ia); or any adulterant which is injurious to health. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of one year that may extend upto 6 years and minimum fine of Rs 2000
• Sale or distribution of any food article containing any poisonous or other ingredient injurious to health, which is likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm. Penalty is minimum imprisonment of three years that may extend upto life and minimum fine of Rs 5000

Read more

Medical Negligence

Medical Negligence

Professional negligence or medical negligence may be defined as want of reasonable degree of care or skill or willful negligence on the part of the medical practitioner in the treatment of a patient with whom a relationship of professional attendant is established, so as to lead to bodily injury or to loss of life.

Consumerism is now firmly established in the medical practice and the notion that blame may be attributed and compensated has a high priority

Who is a consumer?, What is a service?, What constitutes deficiency?

A consumer is any person who hires or avails of any services for a consideration, and includes any beneficiary of such service other than the person who hires or avails of the service, when such services are availed of with the approval of the first mentioned person.

Service means service of any description which is made available to the potential users, but does not include rendering of any service free of charge or under a contract of personal service.

Deficiency means any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance, which is required to be maintained by or under any law for the time being in force or has been undertaken to be performed by a person in pursuance of a contract or otherwise in relation to any service.

Duties owed by a medical practitioner

In general, a professional man owes to its client a duty in tort as well as in contract to exercise reasonable care in giving advice or performing services. Medical practitioners from all fields of medicine such as Allopathic, Homeopathy, Naturopathy can be liable under the Consumer Protection Act. Duties which a doctor owes to his patient are clear

• A duty of care in deciding whether to undertake the case,
• A duty of care in deciding what treatment to give.
• A duty of care in the administration of that treatment.
• A breach of any of these duties gives a right of action for negligence to the patient.

The practitioner must bring to his task a reasonable degree of skill and knowledge and must exercise a reasonable degree of care. Neither the very highest nor a very low degree of care and competence judge in the light of the particular circumstances of each case is what the law requires

When Does a Medical Service Fall Under The Consumer Protection Act

A medical service falls under the purview the Consumer Protection Act in the following cases:

• Service rendered to a patient by a medical practitioner (except where the doctor renders service free of charge to every patient or under a contract of personal service), by way of consultation, diagnosis and treatment, both medicinal and surgical.
• Service rendered at a non-Government hospital/Nursing home where charges are required to be paid by the persons availing such services.
• Service rendered at a non-Government hospital/Nursing home where charges are required to be paid by persons who are in a position to pay and persons who cannot afford to pay are rendered service free of charge, irrespective of the fact that the service is rendered free of charge to persons who are not in a position to pay for such services. Free service, would also be "service" and the recipient a "consumer" under the Act.
• Service rendered at a Government hospital/health center/dispensary where services are rendered on payment of charges and also rendered free of charge to other persons availing such services irrespective of the fact that the service is rendered free of charge to persons who do not pay for such service. Free service would also be "service" and the recipient a "consumer" under the Act.
• Service rendered by a medical practitioner or hospital/nursing home if the person availing the service has taken an insurance policy for medical care whereunder the charges for consultation, diagnosis and medical treatment are borne by the insurance company.
• Where, as a part of the conditions of service, the employer bears the expenses of medical treatment of an employee and his family members dependent on him, the service rendered to such an employee and his family members by a medical practitioner or a hospital/nursing home would not be free of charge and would constitute service.

When Does a Medical Service Not Fall Under The Under The Act

A medical service does not fall under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act in the following cases:

• Where service is rendered free of charge by a medical practitioner attached to a hospital/Nursing home or a medical officer employed in a hospital/Nursing home where such services are rendered free of charge to everybody. The payment of a token amount for registration purpose only at the hospital/nursing home would not alter the position.
• Where a service rendered at a non-Government hospital/Nursing home where no charge whatsoever is made from any person availing the service and all patients (rich and poor) are given free service. The payment of a token amount for registration purpose only at the hospital/Nursing home would not alter the position.

Remedies Available in Case of Medical Negligence

A consumer has the option to approach the Consumer Forums to seek speedy redressal of his grievances or file a criminal complaint.

Where to File a Complaint

How to File Complaint

Checklist to File a Case

1. Retain prescription, bills and references.
2. Maintain medical history records.
3. Consent given by the patient or close relative can be used as evidence in the court.

Read more

Consumer Protection In India

Introduction

Industrial development in the field of manufactured goods has led to the influx of various consumer goods into the Indian market to cater to the needs of the consumers and a variety of services such as banking, financing, insurance, transport, housing construction, entertainment have been made available to the consumers. In order to protect the consumers from exploitation and to save them from adulterated and substandard goods and deficient services the Consumer Protection Act came into force on 15th April, 1986 and it applies to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Who is a Consumer

The definition of consumer under the Consumer Protection Act would include: A person who has bought goods for consideration, Any person other than the buyer who uses the goods with the approval of the buyer, A person who hires any services for consideration1, Any other person who uses the services with the approval of the hirer of services’ Beneficiary of services. Any person who obtains the goods for resale or commercial purposes is not a consumer. But a person buying goods for self employment is a consumer.

Who can file a complaint

Following persons can file a complaint under the Act: a consumer; or any voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956 or under any other law for the time being in force, or the Central Government or any State Government, one or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same interest. A complaint on behalf of the public which consists of unidentifiable consumers cannot be filed under the Act. An unregistered association cannot file a complaint under the Act.

Complaint

A complaint must contain any of the following allegations: An unfair trade  practice or a restrictive trade practice has been adopted by any trader; The goods bought by him or agreed to be bought by him suffer from one or more defects; The services hired or availed of suffer from deficiency in any respect; A trader has charged for the goods mentioned in the complaint a price in excess of the price fixed by or under any law for the time being in force or displayed on the goods or any package containing such goods. Goods which will be hazardous to life and safety when used are being offered for sale to the public in contravention of the provisions of any law for the time being in force requiring traders to display information in regard to the contents, manner and effect of use of such goods.

Limitation Period for filing Complaint

A complaint should be filed at the earliest but not later than two years from the date on which the cause of action arose. However the Court may entertain the complaint after a period of 2 years if the complainant is able to satisfy the court that there was sufficient cause for the delay.

Remedies

A consumer can seek for the following remedies under the Act: to remove the defect pointed out by the appropriate laboratory from the goods in question; to replace the goods with new goods of similar description which shall be free from any defect; to return to the complainant the price, or, as the case may be, the charges paid by the complainant; to pay such amount as may be awarded by it as compensation to the consumer for any loss or injury suffered by the consumer due to the negligence of the opposite party; to remove the defects or deficiencies in the services in question; to discontinue the unfair trade practice or the restrictive trade practice or not to repeat it; not to offer the hazardous goods for sale; to withdraw the hazardous goods from being offered for sale; to provide from adequate costs to complainant.

Consumer Protection Councils

The Consumer Councils have been created to advise and assist the consumers in seeking and enforcing their rights. In India, there are Consumer Councils both at Center level and State level. The State Government shall establish a District Consumer Protection Council for every district. These councils work towards the promotion and protection of consumers. They make investigations and give publicity to the matters concerning consumer interests, take steps towards furthering consumer education and protecting consumer from exploitation, advice the Government in the matter of policy formulation keeping consumer interest as pivotal concern, etc. Although their suggestions are re commendatory in nature, but they have significant impact in policy making.

Objects of the Consumer Council

The objects of the Central Council shall be to promote and protect the following rights of the consumers: The right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property; The right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices; The right to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices; The right to be heard and to be assured that consumer's interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums; The right to seek readdress against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers; and The right to consumer education.

Consumer Protection Forums

The Consumer Protection Act provides three tier machinery for redressal of consumer grievances: District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums At the lowest level are the District Forums and these are established in each District and have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of goods or services and the compensation if any, claimed does not exceed Rs.20, 00, 00 (Twenty Lakhs) and a complaint can be filed in a District Forum within the local limits of which: the opposite party resides or carries on his business or works for gain or where the cause of action arises. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission The State Consumer Disputes Redress Commission is established in each state and these have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of goods or services and the compensation if any, claimed exceeds rupees twenty lakhs but does not exceed rupees one crore. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of the goods or services and compensation if any claimed exceeds rupees one crore.

Appeal

An Appeal from the order of the District Forum lies to the State Commission, against the order of the State Commission to the National Commission and against the order of the National Commission to the Supreme Court. All appeals are to be filed within 30 days of the order appealed against and are to be accompanied by a certified copy of the order. Period of 30 days is counted not from the date of order but from the date when the order is communicated to the appellant.

Penalties for non-compliance

Any person who fails or omits to comply with the order of the District Forum, or State Commission, or the National Commission, as the case may be, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to three years, or with fine which shall not be less than two thousands rupees but which may extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both.

Fee for making complaints before District Forum

Every complaint filed under the Act shall be accompanied by a fee in the form of crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank or through a crossed Indian Postal Order drawn in favor of the Registrar of the State Commission and payable at the respective place where the State Commission or the National Commission is situated.   Source:helplinelaw.com

Read more

Consumer vs. Customer

A consumer and customer are commonly used in the same context at times in business literature. However, they are not the same. Consumers are just one sub group of customers. Consider this example with the Philips company. If a restaurant buys a Philips mixie (blender) for making juice to serve its patrons, then the restaurant is just a customer and NOT a consumer. But if you go and buy a Philips mixie to make juice for your children at home, you are a consumer.

What does this example mean? It means that if you buy a product for any commercial purposes you are not a consumer. If you buy a product purely for your own consumption, you are a consumer.

The consumer protection act 1986 of India, is a little more generous with the word 'Consumer'. According to this law, consumer is not only a person who uses the product for domestic personal use, but also one who uses the product to earn his daily livelyhood. So if your restaurant is a propreitorship company, you are the sole propreitor and the purchase of the mixie is in your name, then you could be deemed a consumer according to the consumer protection act 1986.

There are organizations that call customers who buy products for personal use 'consumers' and customer who buy products for commercial use 'clients'. In short, there are two categories of customers based on how they intent to use the product; consumers and clients

Obviously, consumer protection act 1986 provides protection only for consumers. If you think about it, buying a product for commercial purposes is a business transaction as you have no intention to consume the product for personal use. Like any other business transactions that goes sore, contractual law / civil legislation / arbitration clauses should guide how disputes are resolved. Summarily, consumer protection is only for consumers. You cannot go to a consumer disputes redressal forum (consumer court) if a business transaction goes sour.

The consumer protection act 1986 is further expansive of the term consumer. You dont necessarily have to buy a product for personal use to be a consumer. Just the intention makes you a consumer. In other words, you are a consumer if you intent to buy the product

Lets consider the following as an example. Say a consumer walked into a shop, and tried to buy a product with a maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs.30/-. However, just as the consumer is about to pay, he realizes that the seller wants to charge him Rs.35/-. The consumer refuses to buy the product and walks off without buying the product. Can such a consumer seek protection as per the provisions of consumer protection act? The answer is Yes. As a consumer, it is your right not to be overcharged more than the MRP.

Consider another example. A consumer observes a newspaper advertisement claiming a TV has a specific feature. The consumer visits the TV dealer to buy the TV. However, while discussing the product, the consumer notices that the TV doesnt have the advertised feature. The consumer therefore walks off without buying the TV. Can such a consumer seek protection as per the provisions of consumer protection act? The answer is again a resounding Yes. As a consumer, it is your right not to be misinformed about any products capability.

But sadly, the chances that you as a consumer will ever win a case in the first example is slim to none. Since you refused to purchase the product, you have no proof that the shopkeeper tried to charge you Rs.35/-. In the second case, you stand a good chance of winning a case if you have a certified copy of the newspaper advertisement claiming the product feature and any product literature that shows the lack of availability of the feature.

Now what does winning as a consumer mean in the second case. Since you have not bought the TV, it is hard to prove any damages. You can try to get punitive damages against the company for trying to defraud you as a consumer. However, this is not something to bet on. Your relief as a consumer is that you can request the consumer court to order the company to correct the advertisement, or withdraw the product with such claims. You are very likely to win the former relief, the latter again is uncertain.

The larger question is, to obtain such a relief, should you as a consumer approach a consumer court staking your financial resources, or should there be an effective government (sigh!) watchdog consumer agency that should resort to action on your behalf? This has been a question that has been the core of consumer issues in this country for the last quarter century since the inductment of consumer protection act 1986. It also throws light on the deficiencies of consumer protection act in India.

If you want to check out your ability to distinguish a consumer as per the provisions of the consumer protection act, try to quiz below and see if you pass.

Source: consumerdaddy.com

Read more