India's Stricter Pesticide Rules

Published: 11th May, 2024

Context

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently stated that India has really strict rules for the amount of pesticides allowed in the food.

About the Rules

These rules are called Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs). They set different limits for different foods based on how risky the pesticides are.
Recently, India increased the maximum amount of unregistered pesticides allowed in spices and herbs from 0.01 mg/kg to 0.1 mg/kg.
Before, the limit was 0.01 mg/kg for any pesticide that wasn't officially approved.
- Now, this higher limit of 0.1 mg/kg is only for spices, and it's only for pesticides that aren't officially registered in India.
The international standard, set by Codex, allows MRLs for spices and herbs to be between 0.1 and 80 mg/kg, so India's new limit is still quite low compared to that.

Fact Box: Regulations of Pesticides

Pesticides are regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA & FW) through a committee called the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIB & RC).
They oversee everything about pesticides, from making them to bringing them into the country and using them safely.
CIB & RC was set up under the Insecticide Act of 1968.
This committee is in charge of everything related to pesticides in India, like making them, bringing them into the country, and handling them safely.
When it comes to setting rules about how much pesticide can be in food (called Maximum Residue Limits or MRLs), the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) looks at data from the CIB & RC.
- They do this after assessing the risks, considering how much different groups of people eat, and thinking about health concerns.

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR UPSC IAS

India's Stricter Pesticide Rules

About the Rules

Fact Box: Regulations of Pesticides

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