Chandigarh , October 21 – Haryana Health Minister Aarti Singh Rao has directed to intensify food safety surveillance campaign in the state in view of the festive season. She has directed the Food and Drug Administration to take 100-150 surveillance samples of food items in each district.
Commissioner of Food and Drug Administration Dr. Manoj Kumar said that the main objective of the Health Minister’s instructions to further strengthen the food safety surveillance campaign across the state is to provide safe, pure, quality and unadulterated food items to the general public . Keeping in mind the increasing consumption of sweets , milk and milk products, especially during the festive season of Diwali and Chhath Puja, special emphasis is being laid on ensuring the quality and safety of food items .
He said that under this special campaign, a letter has been written to all the Deputy Commissioners of Haryana asking them to constitute district-level special food surveillance teams under the supervision of the district administration in coordination with the concerned Designated Officer (Food Safety) and Food Safety Officers. These teams will conduct inspection and surveillance sampling in major markets , sweet shops , dairies , milk vendors and other food business establishments , so that substandard , adulterated and unsafe food items can be identified.
The district level special surveillance teams have been given a target of collecting 100 to 150 surveillance food samples per district in addition to the samples collected by the regular food safety officers . The aim of this initiative is to strengthen the independent surveillance system , bring more and more markets under the purview of the campaign and ensure effective monitoring of the quality and safety of food items across the state.
He said that during this campaign, special attention will be paid to sweets , milk , paneer , khoya , ghee and other commonly used food items .
Dr. Manoj Kumar has directed the concerned officers to ensure that all surveillance samples are collected as per the prescribed procedure , properly documented and sent to the concerned food testing laboratories for analysis in a timely manner. The analysis reports received from the laboratories will be monitored regularly and in cases of samples not found as per the prescribed parameters, immediate necessary action will be ensured as per the rules.
He said that with the aim of ensuring transparency and accountability in the food safety system, FDA Headquarters officials have been instructed to upload data related to food samples found to be of poor quality and unsafe on the basis of analytical reports received from laboratories on the state portal of the department every week . This arrangement will ensure systematic monitoring of analytical reports of samples , district-wise progress and regulatory and enforcement action taken. Along with this , it will also help in increasing awareness about food safety among the general public.
2,428 food samples were taken from April 1 to September 30 , 2026.
Dr. Manoj Kumar said that a total of 1,239 enforcement samples and 1,189 surveillance samples , i.e. a total of 2,428 food samples , were collected by the food safety officials in Haryana during the period from 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2026 .
After laboratory analysis, 232 enforcement samples and 149 surveillance samples out of these were found not to be compliant with the prescribed food safety standards. In these cases, necessary regulatory and enforcement action has been taken as per the relevant provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act , 2006 and the rules and laws made thereunder.
The Commissioner clarified that in case the analysis of surveillance samples is found to be non-compliant with the prescribed standards, the concerned Food Safety Officers will immediately review the report. Wherever necessary , separate enforcement samples will be taken as per the prescribed legal procedure and action will be taken as per the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act , 2006. The objective of this process is to ensure timely and effective action on food safety violations .
He said that the department is committed to protecting public health through a robust food safety surveillance system , coordinated action with the district administration , regular review of laboratory reports and effective enforcement of food safety laws. He appealed to all food business operators to adhere to the prescribed hygiene and quality standards and not manufacture , store , distribute or sell substandard , adulterated or unsafe food items .
Health Minister Aarti Singh Rao also appealed to the general public to be vigilant while purchasing food items , buy food items from reliable sources only and report any suspicious activity related to food adulteration or food safety to the concerned authorities. The state government is committed to making safe food items available to every citizen of the state through effective monitoring , transparency and strict regulatory action.
