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THE PREVENTION OF FOOD ADULTERATION ACT, 1954
(37 of 1954)
[Act as on Date - Modified up to 1995]
[29th September 1954]
An Act to make provision for the prevention of adulteration of food.
(1) This Act may be called The prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
(2) It extends to the whole of India a*[..................].
(3) It shall come into force on such date b*[ ]as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
[a] Words "except the State of Jammu and Kashmir" omitted by the Prevention of Food Adulteration (Amendment) Act, 1971 (41 of 1971), section 2 (26-1-1972).
[b] 1st June 1955— S.R.O.1085, dated 9th May, 1955, published in Gaz.of Ind., 21-5-1955, Pt.II, S.3, p.874.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
a*[(i) "adulterant" means any material which is or could be employed for the purposes of adulteration;]
a*[(ia)] "adulterated" – an article of food shall be deemed to be adulterated-
(a) if the article sold by a vendor is a not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser and is to his prejudice, or is not of the nature, substance or quality which it purports or is represented to be;
(b) if the article contains any other substance which affects, or if the article is so processed as to affect injuriously the nature, substance or quality thereof;
(c) if any inferior or cheaper substance has been substituted wholly or in part for the article so as to affect injuriously the nature, substance or quality thereof;
(d) if any constituent of the article has been wholly or in part abstracted so as to affect injuriously the nature, substance or quality thereof;
(e) if the article had been prepared, packed or kept under insanitary conditions whereby it has become contaminated or injurious to health;
(f) if the article consists wholly or in part of any filthy, putrid b*[..................] rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance or is insect-infested or is otherwise unfit for human consumption;
(g) if the article is obtained from a diseased animal;
(h) if the article contains any poisonous or other ingredient which renders it injurious to health:
(i) if the container of the article is composed, whether wholly or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which renders its contents injurious to health;
c*[ (j) if any colouring matter other than that prescribed in respect thereof is present in the article, or if the amounts of that prescribed colouring matter which is present in the article are not within the limits of variabiltiy;]
(k) if the article contains any prohibited preservative or permitted preservative in excess of the prescribed limits;
c*[ (l) if the quality or purity of the article falls below the prescribed standard or its constituents are present in quantities not within the prescribed limits of variability which renders it injurious to health.
(m) if the quality or purity of the article falls below the prescribed standard or its constituents are present in quantities not withinthe prescribed limits of variability which does not render it injurious to health :
Provided that, where the quality or purity of the article, being primary food, has fallen below the prescribed standards or its constituents are present in quantities not within the prescribed limits of variability, in either case, solely due to natural causes and beyond the control of human agency, then, such article shall not be deemed to be adulterated within the meaning of this sub-clause;
Explanation.— Where two or more articles of primary food are mixed together and the resultant article of food.
(a) is stored, sold or distributed under a name which denotes the ingredients thereof; and
(b) is not injurious to health
.
then, such resultant article shall not be deemed to be adulterated within the meaning of this clause;]
[a] Cl.(i) renumbered as Cl.(ia) and new Cl.(i) inserted before the renumbered Cl.(ia) by the Prevention of Food Adulteration (Amendment) Act, 1976 (34 of 1976), S.2 (1-4-1976).
[b] Word "disgusting", omitted, ibid.
[c] Substituted for sub-clauses (j) and (l), ibid
(ii) "Central Food Laboratory" means any laboratory or institute established or specified under section 4;
(iii) "Committee" means the Central Committee for the Food Standards constituted under section 3;
(iv) "Director of the Central Food Laboratory", means the person appointed by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette as the Director of the Central Food Laboratory and includes any person appointed by the Central Government in like manner to perform all or any of the functions of the Director under this Act :
a*[Provided that not person who has any financial interest in the manufacture, import or sale of any article of food shall be appointed to be a Director under this clause;]
[a] Proviso added by the Prevention of Food Adulteration (Amendment) Act, 1976 (34 of 1976), S.2 (1-4-1976).
a*[ (v) "food" means any article used as food or drink for human consumption other than drugs and water and includes-
(a) any article which ordinarily enters into, or is used in the composition or preparation of, human food,
(b) any flavouring matter or condiments, and
(c) any other article which the Central Government may, having regard to its use, nature, substance or quality, declare, by notification in the Official Gazette, as food for the purposes of this Act;]
[a] Substituted by the Prevention of Food Adulteration (Amendment) Act, 1976 (34 of 1976), S.2 (1-4-1976).
a*[ (vi) "Food (Health) Authority" means the Director of Medical and Health Services or the Chief Officer in charge of Health Administration in a State, by whatever designation he is known, and includes any officer empowered by the Central Government or the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the Food (Health) Authority under this Act with respect to such local area as may be specified in the notification;]
[a] Substituted by the Prevention of Food Adulteration (Amendment) Act, 1976 (34 of 1976), S.2 (1-4-1976).
(vii) "Local area" means any area, whether urban or rural, declared by a*[the Central Government or the State Government] by notification b*[ ] in the official Gazette, to be a local area for the purposes of this Act;
[a] Substituted for the words "the State Government" by the Prevention of Food Adulteration (Amendment) Act, 1964 (49 of 1964), S.2 (1-3-1965).
(viii) "Local authority" means in the case of –
(1) a local area which is-
(a) a municipality, the municipal board or municipal corporation;
(b) a cantonment, the cantonment authority;
(c) a notified area, the notified area committee;
(2) any other local area, such authority as may be prescribed by the Central Government or the State Government under this Act;
a*[(viiia) "Local (Health) Authority", in relation to a local area, means the officer appointed by the Central Government or the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to be in charge of Health administration in such area with such designation as may be specified therein ;
(viiib) "manufacture" includes any process incidental or ancillary to the manufacture of an article of food;]
[a] Inserted by the Prevention of Food Adulteration (Amendment) Act, 1976 (34 of 1976), S.2 (1-4-1976).
(ix) "misbranded" – an article of food shall be deemed to be misbranded-
(a) if it is an imitation of, or is a substitute for, or resembles in a manner likely to deceive another article of food under the name of which it is sold, and is not plainly and conspicuously labelled so as to indicate its true character;
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