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Jaipur: Rajasthan High Court Monday directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the central govt to establish comprehensive safety standards and regulatory mechanisms for genetically modified (GM) and genetically engineered foods in India. A division bench comprising acting chief justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and justice Sanjeet Purohit restrained the FSSAI and the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) from issuing any permissions pertaining to the sale, manufa
Hong Kong, December 3, (ANI): Mainland Chinese shoppers are once again flocking to stores in Hong Kong, but this time, their focus is on purchasing sanitary towels and other feminine care products, rather than infant formula, cooking oil, or Yakult drinks. This shift in shopping habits is driven by concerns over reports of contaminated and discoloured cotton fillings in similar products sold in mainland China. These safety issues have led many consumers to seek alternatives in Hong Kong, where the quality is perceived to be more reliable, Radio Free Asia reported. A shopper from Guangzhou, i ...Read More >
Hong Kong: Mainland Chinese shoppers are once again flocking to stores in Hong Kong, but this time, their focus is on purchasing sanitary towels and other feminine care products, rather than infant formula, cooking oil, or Yakult drinks. This shift in shopping habits is driven by concerns over reports of contaminated and discoloured cotton fillings in similar products sold in mainland China. These safety issues have led many consumers to seek alternatives in Hong Kong, where the quality is perceived to be more reliable, Radio Free Asia reported. A shopper from Guangzhou, interviewed by Radio ...Read More >
New Delhi: As India and the US prepare to seal a deal aimed at boosting bilateral trade, New Delhi is aiming for a balanced outcome while Washington is focused on securing deeper market access for its goods. Though India has drawn red lines around its sensitive sectors -- agriculture, dairy, and genetically modified (GM) food -- the US continues to push for significant concessions. It has signalled a potential 6% duty relief from the 16% reciprocal tariff hike announced on 2 April, which remains on hold until 9 July. However, three people familiar with the matter said that even if partial re ...Read More >
This is a Mint Premium article gifted to you. Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The debate on laboratory-grown meat, dairy, and egg products may soon be settled, with the issue reaching India's apex food regulator, three people aware of the development said. The development comes in the backdrop of concerns about public health, food security and ecological sustainability. While the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has put in place a regulatory framework for plant-based protein products, manufacturers and sellers of fermentation-derived and cultivated protein ...Read More >
New Delhi: Economic think tank GTRI on Saturday cautioned that allowing genetically modified (GM) farm products from the US under the proposed trade pact would have implications for India, as it may affect the country's agri exports to regions like the European Union. India and the US are negotiating an interim trade pact, which is expected to be announced before July 9. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that allowing the import of GM products such as soybean meal and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for animal feed would affect India's agricultural exports to the E ...Read More >
In a major twist to the ongoing crackdown on misleading or fake oral-rehydration solution (ORS) drinks, the Delhi High Court has granted an interim stay against key orders issued by FSSAI, effectively pausing the ban on use of ORS branding for certain beverage products. The stay comes following a petition by JNTL Consumer Health (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), allowing it to continue marketing its ORS-branded product and addressing stock in the market. After the FSSAI's October 14 advisory b ...Read More >
India and the US are in crucial trade talks. New Delhi is firm on its stance regarding market access in agriculture. This includes GM crops and dairy. India hopes for a deal before July 9. After July 9, reciprocal tariffs from the US will take effect. India will not compromise the interests of its farmers.The India-US trade pact talks are at a crucial stage with New Delhi sticking to the red line on the issue of market access in agriculture, genetically modified (GM) crops, and dairy, people privy to the development said. However, efforts are on to stitch the trade deal before July 9, when 26 ...Read More >
New Delhi: With just 48 hours left for 90-day pause on US reciprocal tariffs to end, the much-anticipated bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between India and the US has reached a critical stage. According to two officials in the Indian commerce ministry and one in Washington, the agreement is unlikely to be finalized without direct political intervention to resolve some of the remaining sticky issues. "It's down to the wire. Unless there's political direction, the deal may not go through in time," said the first of the two Indian representatives cited above. "If all goes well, the deal will b ...Read More >
New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold meetings with exporters from different sectors, including food processing, textiles, engineering, and chemicals, from August 2-4 in Mumbai to discuss the implications of 25 per cent tariff announced by the US, an industry official said on Friday. The official added that exporters from segments such as fisheries, engineering, IT, and pharma will also participate in the deliberations. Leather sector exporters are expected to meet the minister on August 4 here. The US on Friday slapped a 25 per cent tariff on India, p ...Read More >
New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Domestic export sectors such as leather, footwear, textiles and shrimp will be hit hard by the imposition of the 25 per cent tariff by the US, industry experts say. "Quick estimates suggest that India's goods exports in FY 2026 may come down by 30 per cent from USD 86.5 billion in FY 2025 to USD 60.6 billion in FY 2026," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said. The duty, announced this week, will come into force from August 7 (9.30 am IST). These will be over and above the exiting standard import duty in the US. The 25 per cent tariff will replace the existing 10 per cent ba ...Read More >
Over 60 kg of sweets and 40 kg of bread were seized, with samples sent for lab analysis Diwali 2025 has begun, and the fervour of the festive season has gripped the country. During this period, sales of sweets and other festive items skyrocket in most places. Food safety concerns, especially in terms of adulteration and unsafe cooking practices, also tend to increase. Recently, officials in Telangana conducted state-wide inspections of sweets manufacturing units as well as retailers. 95 establis ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Highlighting a recent directive from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on the establishment of 'sugar boards' in schools, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has urged states to support and implement the initiative to help curb excessive sugar consumption among schoolchildren and foster healthier dietary habits from an early age. The matter was discussed during the 47th Central Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting of the FSSAI, held on May 27. According to the FSSAI, in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for urgent action against obesity ...Read More >
New Delhi: Economic think tank GTRI on Saturday cautioned that allowing genetically modified (GM) farm products from the US under the proposed trade pact would have implications for India as it may affect the country's agri exports to regions like the European Union. India and the US are negotiating an interim trade pact, which is expected to be announced before July 9.The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that allowing the import of GM products such as soybean meal and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for animal feed would affect India's agricultural exports to the Eur ...Read More >
MUMBAI, Aug 3 -- US President Donald Trump on Thursday slapped a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods after prolonged talks that got bogged down over access to India's labour-intensive agricultural sector, which New Delhi has pledged to protect. Why is India opposing the products the US is lobbying for? The United States is pressing India to open its markets to a wide range of American products, including dairy, poultry, corn, soybeans, rice, wheat, ethanol, fruits and nuts. While India is willing to provide greater access for US dry fruits and apples, it is holding back on corn, soybeans, whe ...Read More >
The Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association (IVPA) has called for accelerating the path towards self-sufficiency in edible oil amidst declining imports, policy shifts and evolving free trade agreements. A media statement by IVPA said that India's vegetable oils industry is navigating a critical phase marked by global price volatility in palm and soybean oils, evolving free trade agreements, and domestic policy challenges. While these dynamics present opportunities for strategic sourcing and operational efficiency, they also highlight the delicate balance required between ensuring farmers' ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Hyderabad Police have uncovered a racket of artificial ripening of fruits in the city. A 32-year-old fruit trader, Kunal Nokatwale was arrested following a raid near Balkishan Mandir in Chudi Bazar on April 3. During the raids, the Goshamahal Police Station found the trader using the "Diamond Ripe - Ethylene Ripener" to ripen mangoes quickly, and then selling them in the market. The team seized 4 seized packets of the artificial ripener and at least 25 other lose packets. They also seized 200 kgs of mangoes from the trader. What are the norms for using artificial ripeners? Ac ...Read More >
Complaints are routed directly to authorities for quick resolution The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a fresh directive for all food business operators (FBOs) across the country, including restaurants, cafs, dhabas, and street-side eateries, to visibly display their FSSAI licence or registration certificate along with a QR code that links to the Food Safety Connect App. This move, according to the authority, is aimed at empowering consumers and making it easier f ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday said that government think-tank NITI Aayog has withdrawn a working paper on Indo-US Agriculture trade relations. The Aayog in a working paper, titled Promoting India-US Agricultural Trade Under the New US Trade Regime, had suggested that in the aftermath of 'reciprocal tariffs' by the US, India should adopt dual-track approach and selectively reduce high tariffs on non-sensitive agricultural commodities imports from Washington, while also strategically offer concessions where domestic supply gaps exist. "This was the NITI Aayog ...Read More >
The National Human Rights Commission has taken note of widespread reuse of cooking oil. Concerns were raised about public health risks and environmental pollution. The NHRC has directed the Union Health Ministry and FSSAI to investigate these allegations. A state-wise report is required. An action taken report is also mandated within two weeks. The NHRC has issued a notice to the Union Health Ministry and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) over a complaint raising concerns on a ...Read More >
Jaipur: In a decisive move, the state govt informed the Rajasthan High Court Tuesday it would not cancel the controversial 2021 sub-inspector recruitment examination, despite allegations of paper leaks and use of dummy candidates. After months of protests for and against the demand to cancel the exam as well as the court's directives for administrative clarity in the matter, the state govt finally made its stand clear during the hearing before the single bench of Justice Sameer Jain.Advocate general Rajendra Prasad, representing the state govt, said, "The decision to continue with the recruitm ...Read More >
Mumbai, Jul 18 (PTI) A three-storey chawl collapsed in the western suburb of Bandra here in the early hours of Friday, with at least 10 people feared trapped in the debris, civic officials said. As many as seven people have been rescued from the debris so far and admitted to the civic-run Bhabha Hospital, they said. According to preliminary information, chawl number 37 in the Bharat Nagar area of Bandra East collapsed around 5.56 am. Eight fire engines are at the spot along with teams from the Mumbai police and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's local ward machinery, an official from ...Read More >
Dimapur, Jul 18 (PTI) Two persons have died of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in Nagaland, a health department official said on Friday. Chief Medical Officer, Dimapur, Dr Yartenla Jamir, said that of the seven JE cases detected in Dimapur, Chumoukedima, and Niuland districts, two persons have died so far. She expressed concern over the rise in Japanese encephalitis (JE) cases in the three districts, especially during the monsoon season, which increases the risk of transmission. The Health department has urged district administrations to issue a public advisory on JE prevention measures and to i ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 18 (ANI): A team of Nand Nagri Police Station launched a special drive against individuals involved in the sale of banned 'Chinese Manjha', amid rising incidents of injuries and nabbed two siblings with 325 rolls on Friday. With Independence Day (15th August) and Raksha Bandhan approaching, the Delhi Police has launched a special drive to curb the sale and use of hazardous Chinese Manjha -- a nylon-based kite string that has caused numerous injuries and fatalities involving people, birds, and animals. Acting on local intelligence, a team led by Inspector Anand Yadav, ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) The central drugs laboratories have found 55 samples manufactured by various firms in June to be "not of standard quality", health ministry officials said on Friday. Further, state drugs testing laboratories have identified 130 drugs samples as 'not of standard quality', they said. Also Read | Chhattisgarh: 6 Bodies of Naxals Recovered in Ongoing Encounter With Security Forces in Narayanpur. According to routine regulatory surveillance activity, the list of 'not of standard quality' and spurious drugs are being displayed on the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisa ...Read More >
New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Trades worth nearly Rs 3.21 lakh crore have been conducted through the electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform during the last five financial years, the government said on Friday. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur said, "From 1st April, 2020 to 31st March, 2025, trade worth Rs 3,20,766 crore has been conducted through electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM)". The minister was replying to a question by Congress member Randeep Singh Surjewala. "The inter-state trade volume on the e-NAM platform ...Read More >
SRINAGAR: J&K is in the grip of a food safety scare after officials seized more than 11,600kg of "imported rotten meat" from warehouses, eateries and shops across Kashmir valley, triggering a storm of halal concerns and rumours.The seizures, excluding poultry, were made over the past week during surprise inspections that uncovered illegal storage and gross violations of safety rules. Images of decayed meat on social media spurred calls to boycott animal meat in restaurants.Religious leaders joine ...Read More >
VMPL New Delhi [India], August 14: Ellenox, India's largest venture studio, is accelerating its global push in enterprise AI development. In the past year, the company has grown its headcount by 50% over the last year, bringing in senior AI talent from Amazon and Google to power its next phase of expansion. Already delivering AI transformation for Fortune 50 leaders in fintech, cloud computing, consumer social, and sports-tech, Ellenox has built systems that replace costly call centers with natural-voice AI agents and deployed end-to-end social media pipelines capable of scaling global brand ...Read More >
Jaipur: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Wednesday stressed the need to speed up the establishment of a food safety laboratory in Bikaner and assured FSSAI's support for this purpose.FSSAI chief executive officer G Kamala Vardhana Rao held a meeting with health department officials in Jaipur. He appreciated the efforts of the state govt in promoting food safety and combating food adulteration. He also directed officials to ensure continuous monitoring to strengthen enforce ...Read More >
New Delhi: India is looking to allow imports of certain genetically modified (GM) farm products used in animal feed as part of the proposed bilateral trade deal with the US but New Delhi remains firm on not giving concessions in market access in the sensitive dairy and agricultural sectors, people said. Talks on the deal are nearing conclusion with some last minute finetuning, said a person privy to the development, adding it could be announced well before the July 9 deadline when the US government's moratorium on reciprocal tariffs ends. An announcement on the trade deal is expected no late ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Friday slammed the US for applying "coercive tactics" on India to gain access to Indian markets in sensitive sectors, and asked the government to stay firm on its stance to protect national interest. It also said that India must avoid concessions that undermine farmers, small-scale industries, or long-term economic self-reliance. "The Swadeshi Jagran Manch urges the Government of India to maintain its firm stance and to use this moment to strengthen strategic autonomy, protect national interest, and a ...Read More >