Food & Drugs Administration (FDA), has issued a detailed advisory to ensure scientific and responsible disposal of seized, rejected, and expired food items, following recent reports of such materials being improperly dumped into rivers and other natural water bodies.

Reiterating the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and guidelines issued by FSSAI, the advisory directs all Designated Officers, Food Safety Officers, and enforcement teams to strictly adhere to approved disposal procedures to prevent environmental harm, health risks, and misuse of unsafe food items.

The Department has emphasized that disposal of any seized, rejected, or expired food items including their packaging, into rivers, lakes, natural water bodies, or open land is strictly prohibited.

The advisory directs enforcement teams to adopt the approved disposal methods such as, authorized incinerators compliant with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) norms, Disposal in designated sanitary landfills with leachate control, composting or anaerobic digestion of biodegradable waste through certified units, in coordination with local municipal bodies, panchayats, or other statutory authorities.

All disposal activities must be video recorded in the presence of two independent witnesses. After completion, the supervising FSO must submit a certificate of disposal to the Designated Officer, with copies to the Commissioner of Food Safety and the concerned Food Business Operator (FBO).

Designated Officers have been instructed to identify suitable incineration, composting, or alternative disposal facilities and share the list with the Commissioner of Food Safety. For high-volume disposals, coordination with the State Pollution Control Board has been advised.

Additionally, Designated Officers must submit monthly disposal compliance reports to the Commissioner of Food Safety by the 3rd of following month, highlighting any deviations from the prescribed guidelines.