5
[8. Public Analysts.—The Central Government or the State Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint such persons as it thinks fit, having the prescribed qualifications to be public
analysts for such local areas as may be assigned to them by the Central Government or the State
Government, as the case may be:
Provided that no person who has any financial interest in the manufacture, import or sale of any
article of food shall be appointed to be a public analyst under this section:
6
[Provided further that different public analysts may be appointed for different articles of food.]
1. Subs. by Act 22 of 1995, s. 87, for “Customs Collector” (w.e.f. 26-5-1995).
2. Subs by Act 49 of 1964, s. 4, for “with a view to preventing the outbreak or spread of infectious diseases” (w.e.f. 1-3-1965).
3. The word “or” omitted by Act 34 of 1976, s. 6 (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
4. Ins. by s. 6, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
5. Subs. by Act 49 of 1964, s. 5, for sections 8 and 9 (w.e.f. 1-3-1965).
6. Ins. by Act 34 of 1976, s. 7 (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
9
9. Food Inspectors.—(1) The Central Government or the State Government may, by notification in
the Official Gazette, appoint such person as it thinks fit, having the prescribed qualifications to be food
inspectors for such local areas as may be assigned to them by the Central Government or the State
Government, as the case may be:
Provided that no person who has any financial interest in the manufacture, import or sale of any
article of food shall be appointed to be a food inspector under this section.
(2) Every food inspector shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of
the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) and shall be officially subordinate to such authority as the
Government appointing him, may specify in this behalf.]
10. Powers of Food Inspectors.—(1) A food Inspector shall have power—
(a) to take samples of any article of food from—
(i) any person selling such article;
(ii) any person who is in the course of conveying, delivering or preparing to deliver such
article to a purchaser or consignee;
(iii) a consignee after delivery of any such article to him; and
(b) to send such sample for analysis to the public analyst for the local area within which such
sample has been taken;
1
[(c) with the previous approval of the Local (Health) Authority having jurisdiction in the local
area concerned, or with the previous approval of the Food (Health) Authority, to prohibit the sale of
any article of food in the interest of public health.]
2
[Explanation—For the purposes of sub-clause (iii) of clause (a) “consignee” does not include a
person who purchases or receives any article of food for his own consumption.]
3
[(2) Any food inspector may enter and inspect any place where any article of food is manufactured,
or stored for sale, or stored for the manufacture of any other article of food for sale, or exposed or
exhibited for sale or where any adulterant is manufactured or kept, and take samples of such article of
food or adulterant for analysis:
Provided that no sample of any article of food, being primary food, shall be taken under this
sub-section if it is not intended for sale as such food.]
(3) Where any sample is taken under clause (a) of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), its cost
calculated at the rate at which the article is usually sold to the public shall be paid to the person from
whom it is taken.
(4) If any article intended for food appears to any food inspector to be adulterated or misbranded, he
may seize and carry away or keep in the safe custody of the vendor such article in order that it may be
dealt with as hereinafter provided 4
[and he shall, in either case, take a sample of such article and submit
the same for analysis to a public analyst].
5
[Provided that where the food inspector keeps such article in the safe custody of the vendor he may
require the vendor to execute a bond for a sum of money equal to the value of such article with one or
more sureties as the food inspector deems fit and the vendor shall execute the bond accordingly.]
1. Subs. by Act 34 of 1976, s. 8, for clause (c) (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
2. Ins. by s. 8, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
3. Subs. by s. 8, ibid., for sub-section (2) (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
4. Ins. by s. 8, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
5. Ins. by Act 49 of 1964, s. 6 (w.e.f. 1-3-1965).
10
1
[(4A) Where any article of food seized under sub-section (4) is of a perishable nature and the Local
(Health) Authority is satisfied that such article of food is so deteriorated that it is unfit for human
consumption, the said Authority may, after giving notice in writing to the vendor, cause the same to be
destroyed.]
(5) The power conferred by this section includes power to break open any package in which any
article of food may be contained or to break open the door of any premises where any article of food may
be kept for safe:
2
[Provided that the power to break open the package or door shall be exercised only after the owner or
any other person in charge of the package or, as the case may be, in occupation of the premises, if he is
present therein, refuses to open the package or door on being called upon to do so, and in either case after
recording the reasons for doing so:]
Provided further that the food inspector shall, in exercising the powers of entry upon, and inspection
of any place under this section, follow, as far as may be the provisions of the 3
[Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)] relating to the search or inspection of a place by a police officer executing a
search warrant issued under that code.
(6) 4
[Any adulterant found in the possession of a manufacturer or distributor of, or dealer in, any
article of food or in any of the premises occupied by him as such] and for the possession of which he is
unable to account to the satisfaction of the food inspector, 5
[and any books of account or other documents
documents found in his possession or control and which would be useful for, or relevant to, any
investigation or proceeding under this Act, may be seized by the food inspector] and 6
[a sample of such
adulterant] submitted for analysis to a public analyst.
7
[Provided that no such books of account or other documents shall be seized by the food inspector
except with the previous approval of the authority to which he is officially subordinate.]
(7) Where the food inspector take any action under clause (a) of sub-section (1) sub-section (2),
sub-section (4), or sub-section (6), he shall 8
[call one or more persons to be present at the time when such
action is taken and take his or their signatures].
9
[(7A) Where any books of account or other documents are seized under sub-section (6) the food
inspector shall, within a period not exceeding thirty days from the date of seizure, return the same to the
person from whom they were seized after copies thereof or extracts therefrom as certified by that person
in such manner as may be prescribed have been taken.
Provided that where such person refuses to so certify, and a prosecution has been instituted against
him under this Act, such books of account or other documents shall be returned to him only after copies
thereof or extracts therefrom as certified by the court have been taken.
(7B) When any adulterant is seized under sub-section (6), the burden of proving that such adulterant
is not meant for purposes of adulteration shall be on the person from whose possession such adulterant
was seized.]
(8) Any food inspector may exercise the powers of a police officer 10[under section 42 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)] for the purpose of ascertaining the true name and residence of the
person from whom a sample is taken or an article of food is seized.
1. Ins. by Act 34 of 1976, s. 8 (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
2. Subs. by s. 8, ibid., for proviso (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
3. Subs. by s. 8, ibid., for “Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, (5 of 1898)” (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
4. Subs. by s. 8, ibid., for certain words (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
5. Subs. by s. 8, ibid., for “may be seized by the food inspector” (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
6. Subs. by s. 8, ibid., for “if necessary a sample of such material” (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
7. Ins. by s. 8, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
8. Subs. by Act 49 of 1964, s. 6, for certain words (w.e.f. 1-3-1965).
9. Ins. by Act 34 of 1976, s. 8 (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
10. Subs. by s. 8, ibid., for “under section 57 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, (5 of 1898)” (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
11
(9) Any food inspector exercising powers under this Act or under the rules made thereunder who—
(a) vexatiously and without any reasonable grounds of suspicion seizes any articles of food 1
[or
adulterant] or
(b) commits any other act to the injury of any person without having reason to believe that such
act is necessary for the execution of his duty.
shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be punishable for such offence 2
[with fine which
shall not be less than five hundred rupees but which may extend to one thousand rupees].
11. Procedure to be followed by food Inspectors.—3
[(1) When a food inspector takes a sample of
food for analysis, he shall—
(a) give notice in writing then and thereof his intention to have it so analysed to the person from
whom he has taken the sample and to the person, if any, whose name, address and other particulars
have been disclosed under section 14A.
(b) except in special cases provided by rules under this Act, divide the sample then and there into
three parts and mark and seal or fasten up each part in such a manner as its nature permits and take
the signature or thumb impression of the person from whom the sample has been taken in such place
and in such manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that where such person refuses to sign or put his thumb impression the food inspector
shall call upon one or more witnesses and take his or their signatures or thumb impressions, as the
case may be, in lieu of the signature or thumb impression of such person;
(c) (i) send one of the parts for analysis to the public analyst under intimation to the Local
(Health) Authority; and
(ii) send the remaining two parts to the Local (Health) Authority for the purposes of
sub-section (2) of this section and sub sections (2A) and (2E) of section 13.
(2) Where the part of the sample sent to the public analyst under sub-clause (I) of clause (c) of
sub-section (1) is lost or damaged, the Local (Health) Authority shall, on a requisition made to it by the
public analyst or the food inspector dispatch one of the parts of the sample sent to it under sub-clause (ii)
of the said clause (c) to the public analyst for analysis.]
(3) When a sample of any article of food 4
[or adulterant] is taken under sub-section (1) or
sub-section (2) of section 10, 5
[the food inspector shall, by the immediately succeeding working day, send
send a sample of the article of food or adulterant or both, as the case may be,] in accordance with the rules
prescribed for sampling to the public analyst for the local area concerned.
6
[(4) An article of food seized under sub-section (4) of section 10, unless destroyed under
sub-section (4A) of that section, and any adulterant seized under sub-section (6) of that section shall be
produced before a magistrate as soon as possible and in any case not later than seven days after the receipt
of the report of the public analyst.]
7
* * * * *
Provided 8
*** that if an application is made to the magistrate in this behalf by the person from whom
any article of food has been seized, the magistrate shall by order in writing direct the food inspector to
produce such article before him within such time as may be specified in the order.
1. Ins. by Act 34 of 1976, s. 8 (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
2. Subs. by s. 8, ibid., for “with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees” (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
3. Subs. by s. 9, ibid., for sub-sections (1) and (2) (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
4. Ins. by s. 9, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
5. Subs. by s. 9, ibid., for “the food inspector shall send a sample of it” (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
6. Subs. by s. 9, ibid., for sub-section (4) (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
7. The proviso omitted by s. 9, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
8. The word “further” omitted by s. 9, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
12
1
[(5) If it appears to the magistrate on taking such evidence as he may deem necessary—
(a) that the article of food produced before him under sub-section (4) is adulterated or
misbranded, he may order it—
(i) to be forfeited to the Central Government, the State Government or the local authority, as
the case may be; or
(ii) to be destroyed at the cost of the owner or the person from whom it was seized so as to
prevent its being used as human food; or
(iii) to be so disposed of as to prevent its being again exposed for sale or used for food under
its deceptive name; or
(iv) to be returned to the owner, on his executing a bond with or without sureties, for being
sold under its appropriate name or, where the magistrate is satisfied that the article of food is
capable of being made to conform to prescribed standards for human consumption after
reprocessing, for being sold after reprocessing under the supervision of such officer as may be
specified in the order;
(b) that the adulterant seized under sub-section (6) of section 10 and produced before him is
apparently of a kind which may be employed for purposes of adulteration and for the possession of
which the manufacturer, distributor or dealer, as the case may be, is unable to account satisfactorily,
he may order it to be forfeited to the Central Government, the State Government or the local
authority, as the case may be.]
(6) 2
[If it appears to the magistrate that any such—
(a) article of food is not adulterated; or
(b) adulterant which is purported to be an adulterant is not an adulterant,
the person from whose possession the article of food or adulterant was taken] shall be entitled to have it
restored to him and it shall be in the discretion of the magistrate to award such person from such fund as
the State Government may direct in this behalf, such compensation not exceeding the actual loss which he
has sustained as the magistrate may think proper.
12. Purchaser may have food analysed.—Nothing contained in this Act shall be held to prevent a
purchaser of any article of food other than a food inspector 3
[or a recognised consumer association,
whether the purchaser is a member of that association or not,] from having such article analysed by the
public analyst on payment of such fees as may be prescribed and from receiving from the public analyst a
report of his analysis:
Provided that 4
[such purchaser or recognised consumer association shall inform the vendor at the time
time of purchase of his or its intention] to have such article so analysed:
Provided further that the provision of sub-section (1), sub-section (2) and sub-section (3) of
section 11 shall, as far as may be, apply to a 5
[purchaser of article of food or recognised consumer
association who or which intends] to have such articles so analysed, as they apply to a food inspector who
takes a sample of food for analysis:
Provided also that if the report of the public analyst shows that the article of food is adulterated, the
6
[purchaser or recognised consumer association shall be entitled to get refund of the fees paid by him or
it] under this section.
1. Subs. by Act 34 of 1976, s. 9, for sub-section (5) (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
2. Subs. by s. 9, ibid., for certain words (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
3. Ins. by Act 70 of 1986, s. 2 (w.e.f. 1-5-1987).
4. Subs. by s. 2, ibid., for “such purchaser shall inform the vendor at the time of purchase of his intention” (w.e.f. 1-5-1987).
1987).
5. Subs. by s. 2, ibid., for “purchaser of article of food who intends” (w.e.f. 1-5-1987).
6. Subs. by s. 2, ibid., for “purchaser shall be entitled to get refund of the fees paid by him” (w.e.f. 1-5-1987).
13
1
[Explanation—For the purposes of this section and section 20, “recognised consumer association”
means a voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) or any
other law for the time being in force.]
13. Report of Public analyst.—2
[(1) The public analyst shall deliver, in such form as may be
prescribed, a report to the Local (Health) Authority of the result of the analysis of any article of food
submitted to him for analysis.
(2) On receipt of the report of the result of the analysis under sub-section (1) to the effect that the
article of food is adulterated, the Local (Health) Authority shall, after the institution of prosecution
against the person from whom the sample of the article of food was taken and the person , if any, whose
name, address and other particulars have been disclosed under section 14A, forward, in such manner as
may be prescribed, a copy of the report of the result of the analysis to such person or persons, as the case
may be, informing such person or persons that if it is so desired, either or both of them may make an
application to the court within a period of ten days from the date of receipt of the copy of the report to get
the sample of the article of food kept by the Local (Health) Authority analysed by the Central Food
Laboratory.
(2A) When an application is made to the court under sub-section (2), the court shall require the Local
(Health) Authority to forward the part or parts of the sample kept by the said Authority and upon such
requisition being made, the said Authority shall forward the part or parts of the sample to the court within
a period of five days from the date of receipt of such requisition.
(2B) On receipt of the part or parts of the sample from the Local (Health) Authority under
sub-section (2A), the court shall first ascertain that the mark and seal or fastening as provided in clause (b)
of sub-section (1) of section 11 are intact and the signature or thumb impression, as the case may be, is
not tampered with, and dispatch the part or, as the case may be, one of the parts of the sample under its
own seal to the Director of the Central Food Laboratory who shall thereupon send a certificate to the
court in the prescribed form within one month from the date of receipt of the part of the sample specifying
the result of the analysis.
(2C) Where two parts of the sample have been sent to the court and only one part of the sample has
been sent by the court to the Director of the Central Food Laboratory under sub-section (2B), the court
shall, as soon as practicable, return the remaining part to the Local (Health) Authority and that Authority
shall destroy that part after the certificate from the Director of the Central Food Laboratory has been
received by the court:
Provided that where the part of the sample sent by the court to the Director of the Central Food
Laboratory is lost or damaged, the court shall require the Local (Health) Authority to forward the part of
the sample, if any, retained by it to the court and on receipt thereof, the court shall proceed in the manner
provided in sub-section (2B).
(2D) Until the receipt of the certificate of the result of the analysis from the Director of the Central
Food Laboratory, the court shall not continue with the proceedings pending before it in relation to the
prosecution.
(2E) If, after considering the report, if any, of the food inspector or otherwise the Local (Health)
Authority is of the opinion that the report delivered by the public analyst under sub-section (1)
is erroneous, the said Authority shall forward one of the parts of the sample kept by it to any
other public analyst for analysis and if the report of the result of the analysis of that part of the sample by
that other public analyst is to the effect that the article of food is adulterated, the provisions of
sub-sections (2) to (2D) shall, so far as may be, apply.]
(3) The certificate issued by the Director of the Central Food Laboratory 3
[under sub-section (2B)]
shall supersede the report given by the public analyst under sub-section (1).
1. The Explanation added by Act 70 of 1986, s. 2. (w.e.f. 1-5-1987)
2. Subs. by Act 34 of 1976, s. 10, for sub-sections (1) and (2) (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
3. Subs. by s. 10, ibid., for “under sub-section (2) (w.e.f. 1-4-1976).
14
(4) Where a certificate obtained from the Director of the Central Food Laboratory 1
[under
sub-section (2B)] is produced in any proceeding under this Act, or under sections 272 to 276 of the Indian
Penal Code (45 of 1860), it shall not be necessary in such proceeding to produce any part of the sample of
food taken for analysis.
(5) Any document purporting to be a report signed by a public analyst, unless it has been superseded
under sub-section (3), or any document purporting to be a certificate signed by the Director of the Central
Food Laboratory, may be used as evidence of the facts stated therein any proceeding under this Act or
under sections 272 to 276 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
2
[Provided that any document purporting to be a certificate signed by the Director of the Central Food
Laboratory [not being a certificate with respect to the analysis of the part of the sample of any article of
food referred to in the proviso to sub-section (1A) of section 16] shall be final and conclusive evidence of
the facts stated therein.]
3
[Explanation—In this section, and in clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 16, Director of the
Central Food Laboratory shall include the officer for the time being in charge of any Food Laboratory (by
whatever designation he is known) recognised by the Central Government for the purposes of this
section.]