law: The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 
  3. Definitions. - 
  1.     
  
    In
  
  this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
               
  
   i.        
  
    "adulterant"
  
  means any material which is or could be employed for making the food unsafe or
  
  sub-standard or mis-branded or containing extraneous matter;
  "advertisement"
  
  
  
  means any audio or visual publicity, representation or pronouncement made by
  
  means of any light, sound, smoke, gas, print, electronic media, internet or
  
  website and includes through any notice, circular, label, wrapper, invoice or
  
  other documents;
             
  
   iii.        
  
    "Chairperson"
  
  means the Chairperson of the Food Authority;
             
  
   iv.        
  
    "claim"
  
  means any representation which states, suggests or implies that a food has
  
  particular qualities relating to its origin, nutritional properties, nature,
  
  processing, composition or otherwise;
              
  
   v.        
  
    "Commissioner
  
  of Food Safety" means the Commissioner of Food Safety appointed under
  
  section 30;
             
  
   vi.        
  
    "
  
  consumer" means persons and families purchasing and receiving food in
  
  order to meet their personal needs;
            
  
   vii.        
  
    "contaminant"
  
  means any substance, whether or not added to food, but which is present in such
  
  food as a result of the production (including operations carried out in crop
  
  husbandry, animal husbandry or veterinary medicine), manufacture, processing,
  
  preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food
  
  or as a result of environmental contamination and does not include insect
  
  fragments, rodent hairs and other extraneous matter;
           
  
   viii.        
  
    "Designated
  
  Officer" means the officer appointed under section 36;
             
  
   ix.        
  
    "extraneous
  
  matter" means any matter contained in an article of food which may be
  
  carried from the raw materials, packaging materials or process systems used for
  
  its manufacture or which is added to it, but such matter does not render such
  
  article of food unsafe;
              
  
   x.        
  
    "food"
  
  means any substance, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed,
  
  which is intended for human consumption and includes primary food to the extent
  
  defined in clause (ZK), genetically modified or engineered food or food
  
  containing such ingredients, infant food, packaged drinking water, alcoholic
  
  drink, chewing gum, and any substance, including water used into the food
  
  during its manufacture, preparation or treatment but does not include any
  
  animal feed, live animals unless they are prepared or processed for placing on
  
  the market for human consumption, plants prior to harvesting, drugs and
  
  medicinal products, cosmetics, narcotic or psychotropic substances:Provided
  
  that the Central Government may declare, by notification in the Official
  
  Gazette, any other article as food for the purposes of this Act having regards
  
  to its use, nature, substance or quality;
             
  
  
  
   xi.        
  
    "food
  
  additive" means any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself or
  
  used as a typical ingredient of the food, whether or not it has nutritive
  
  value, the intentional addition of which to food for a technological (including
  
  organoleptic) purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment,
  
  packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food results, or may be
  
  reasonably expected to result (directly or indirectly), in it or its
  
  by-products becoming a component of or otherwise affecting the characteristics
  
  of such food but does not include "contaminants" or substances added
  
  to food for maintaining or improving nutritional qualities;
            
  
   xii.        
  
    "
  
  Food Analyst" means an analyst appointed under section 45;
           
  
   xiii.        
  
    "
  
  Food Authority" means the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
  
  established under section 4;
          
  
   xiv.        
  
    "food
  
  business" means any undertaking, whether for profit or not and whether
  
  public or private, carrying out any of the activities related to any stage of
  
  manufacture, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution of
  
  food, import and includes food services, catering services, sale of food or
  
  food ingredients;
           
  
   xv.        
  
    "food
  
  business operator" in relation to food business means a person by whom the
  
  business is carried on or owned and is responsible for ensuring the compliance
  
  of this Act, rules and regulations made thereunder;
          
  
   xvi.        
  
    "food
  
  laboratory" means any food laboratory or institute established by the
  
  Central or a State Government or any other agency and accredited by National
  
  Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories or an equivalent
  
  accreditation agency and recognised by the Food Authority under section 43;
         
  
   xvii.        
  
    "food
  
  safety" means assurance that food is acceptable for human consumption
  
  according to its intended use;
         xviii.        
  
    "food
  
  safety audit" means a systematic and functionally independent examination
  
  of food safety measures adopted by manufacturing units to determine whether
  
  such measures and related results meet with objectives of food safety and the
  
  claims made in that behalf;
          
  
  
  
   xix.        
  
    "Food
  
  Safety Management System" means the adoption of Good Manufacturing
  
  Practices, Good Hygienic Practices, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
  
  and such other practices as may be specified by regulation, for the food
  
  business;
           
  
   xx.        
  
    "
  
  Food Safety Officer " means an officer appointed under section 37;
          
  
  
  
   xxi.        
  
    "hazard"
  
  means a biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with
  
  the potential to cause an adverse health effect;
         
  
   xxii.        
  
    "
  
  import" means bringing into India any article of food by land, sea or air;
         xxiii.        
  
  
  
    "improvement
  
  notice" means a notice issued under section 32 of this Act;
         xxiv.        
  
    "infant
  
  food" and "infant milk substitute" shall have the meanings
  
  assigned to them in clauses (f) and (g) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the
  
  Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of
  
  Production, Supply and Distribution) Act,1992, respectively;
         
  
  
  
   xxv.        
  
    "ingredient"
  
  means any substance, including a food additive used in the manufacture or
  
  preparation of food and present in the final product, possibly in a modified
  
  form;
         xxvi.        
  
    "label"
  
  means any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descriptive matter, written,
  
  printed, stencilled, marked, embossed, graphic, perforated, stamped or
  
  impressed on or attached to container, cover, lid or crown of any food package
  
  and includes a product insert;
        xxvii.        
  
  
  
    "
  
  licence" means a licence granted under section 31;
       xxviii.        
  
    "local
  
  area" means any area, whether urban or rural, notified by the Commissioner
  
  of Food Safety, to be a local area for the purposes of this Act;
         xxix.        
  
  
  
    "manufacture"
  
  means a process or adoption or any treatment for conversion of ingredients into
  
  an article of food, which includes any sub-process, incidental or ancillary to
  
  the manufacture of an article of food;
         
  
   xxx.        
  
    "manufacturer"
  
  means a person engaged in the business of manufacturing any article of food for
  
  sale and includes any person who obtains such article from another person and
  
  packs and labels it for sale or only labels it for such purposes;
         xxxi.        
  
    "Member"
  
  
  
  means Member of the Food Authority and includes the Chairperson;
        xxxii.        
  
    "misbranded
  
  food" means an article of food-
  A.     if it is purported,
  
  or is represented to be, or is being-
                       
  
  
  
   i.        
  
    offered
  
  or promoted for sale with false, misleading or deceptive claims either;
  a.      upon the label of the
  
  package, or
  b.     through
  
  advertisement, or
                      
  
   i.        
  
  
  
  
                      
  
   ii.        
  
  
                      
  
   i.        
  
  
                      
  
   ii.        
  
    sold
  
  by a name which belongs to another article of food; or
                     
  
   iii.        
  
    offered
  
  or promoted for sale under the name of a fictitious individual or company as
  
  the manufacturer or producer of the article as borne on the package or
  
  containing the article or the label on such package; or
  A.    
  
  
  B.     if the article is
  
  sold in packages which have been sealed or prepared by or at the instance of
  
  the manufacturer or producer bearing his name and address but-
                       
  
  
  
   i.        
  
    the
  
  article 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; or
                      
  
   ii.        
  
    the
  
  package containing the article or the label on the package bears any statement,
  
  design or device regarding the ingredients or the substances contained therein,
  
  which is false or misleading in any material particular, or if the package is
  
  otherwise deceptive with respect to its contents; or
                     
  
   iii.        
  
    the
  
  article is offered for sale as the product of any place or country which is
  
  false; or
  A.    
  
  
  B.    
  
  
  C.     if the article
  
  contained in the package-
                       
  
   i.        
  
    contains
  
  any artificial flavouring, colouring or chemical preservative and the package
  
  is without a declaratory label stating that fact or is not labelled in
  
  accordance with the requirements of this Act or regulations made thereunder or
  
  is in contravention thereof; or
                      
  
   ii.        
  
    is
  
  offered for sale for special dietary uses, unless its label bears such
  
  information as may be specified by regulation, concerning its vitamins,
  
  minerals or other dietary properties in order sufficiently to inform its
  
  purchaser as to its value for such use; or
                     
  
   iii.        
  
    is
  
  not conspicuously or correctly stated on the outside thereof within the limits
  
  of variability laid down under this Act.
      
  
   i.        
  
  
      
  
   ii.        
  
  
      
  
   iii.        
  
  
      
  
   iv.        
  
  
      
  
  
  
   v.        
  
  
      
  
   vi.        
  
  
      
  
   vii.        
  
  
      
  
   viii.        
  
  
  
  
      
  
   ix.        
  
  
      
  
   x.        
  
  
      
  
   xi.        
  
  
      
  
   xii.        
  
  
      
  
   xiii.        
  
  
      
  
   xiv.        
  
  
      
  
   xv.        
  
  
  
  
      
  
   xvi.        
  
  
      
  
   xvii.        
  
  
      
  
   xviii.        
  
  
      
  
   xix.        
  
  
      
  
   xx.        
  
  
      
  
   xxi.        
  
  
      
  
   xxii.        
  
  
  
  
      
  
   xxiii.        
  
  
      
  
   xxiv.        
  
  
      
  
   xxv.        
  
  
      
  
   xxvi.        
  
  
      
  
   xxvii.        
  
  
      
  
   xxviii.        
  
  
      
  
   xxix.        
  
  
  
  
      
  
   xxx.        
  
  
      
  
   xxxi.        
  
  
      
  
   xxxii.        
  
  
       xxxiii.        
  
    "notification"
  
  means a notification published in the Official Gazette;(zh) "package"
  
  means a pre-packed box, bottle, casket, tin, barrel, case, pouch, receptacle,
  
  sack, bag, wrapper or such other things in which an article of food is packed;
       xxxiv.        
  
    "premises"
  
  include any shop, stall, hotel, restaurant, airline services and food canteens,
  
  place or vehicle or vessel where any article of food is sold or manufactured or
  
  stored for sale;
        xxxv.        
  
    "prescribed"
  
  means prescribed by rules made by the Central Government or the State
  
  Government, as the case may be under this Act;
       xxxvi.        
  
    "primary
  
  food" means an article of food, being a produce of agriculture or
  
  horticulture or animal husbandry and dairying or aquaculture in its natural
  
  form, resulting from the growing, raising, cultivation, picking, harvesting,
  
  collection or catching in the hands of a person other than a farmer or
  
  fisherman;
      xxxvii.        
  
    "prohibition
  
  order" means an order issued under section 33 of this Act;
     xxxviii.        
  
    "risk",
  
  in relation to any article of food, means the probability of an adverse effect
  
  on the health of consumers of such food and the severity of that effect,
  
  consequential to a food hazard;
       xxxix.        
  
  
  
    "risk
  
  analysis", in relation to any article of food, means a process consisting
  
  of three components, i.e., risk assessment, risk management and risk
  
  communication;
             
  
   xl.        
  
    "risk
  
  assessment" means a scientifically based process consisting of the
  
  following steps:
                       
  
   i.        
  
    hazard
  
  identification,
                      
  
   ii.        
  
    hazard
  
  characterisation,
                     
  
   iii.        
  
    exposure
  
  assessment, and
                     
  
   iv.        
  
    risk
  
  characterisation;
            
  
   xli.        
  
  
  
    "risk
  
  communication" means the interactive exchange of information and opinions
  
  throughout the risk analysis process concerning risks, risk-related factors and
  
  risk perceptions, among risk assessors, risk managers, consumers, industry, the
  
  academic community and other interested parties, including the explanation of
  
  risk assessment findings and the basis of risk management decisions;
           
  
   xlii.        
  
    "risk
  
  management" means the process, distinct from risk assessment, of
  
  evaluating policy alternatives, in consultation with all interested parties
  
  considering risk assessment and other factors relevant for the protection of
  
  health of consumers and for the promotion of fair trade practices, and, if
  
  needed, selecting appropriate prevention and control options;
          
  
   xliii.        
  
    "sale"
  
  with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means the sale of any
  
  article of food, whether for cash or on credit or by way of exchange and
  
  whether by wholesale or retail, for human consumption or use, or for analysis,
  
  and includes an agreement for sale, an offer for sale, the exposing for sale or
  
  having in possession for sale of any such article, and includes also an attempt
  
  to sell any such article;
         
  
   xliv.        
  
    "sample"
  
  means a sample of any article of food taken under the provisions of this Act or
  
  any rules and regulations made there under;
          
  
  
  
   xlv.        
  
    "specified
  
  by regulations" means specified by regulations made by the Food Authority;
         
  
   xlvi.        
  
    "standard",
  
  in relation to any article of food, means the standards notified by the Food
  
  Authority;
         xlvii.        
  
  
  
    "State
  
  Government" in relation to a Union territory means the Administrator of
  
  that Union territory appointed by the President under article 239 of the
  
  Constitution;
        xlviii.        
  
    "substance"
  
  includes any natural or artificial substance or other matter, whether it is in
  
  a solid state or in liquid form or in the form of gas or vapour;
         
  
   xlix.        
  
    "sub-standard",
  
  an article of food shall be deemed to be sub-standard if it does not meet the
  
  specified standards but not so as to render the article of food unsafe;
               
  
   l.        
  
    "Tribunal"
  
  means the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal established under section 70;
              
  
   li.        
  
    "unsafe
  
  food" means an article of food whose nature, substance or quality is so
  
  affected as to render it injurious to health:-
  a.      by the article
  
  itself, or its package thereof, which is composed, whether wholly or in part,
  
  of poisonous or deleterious substances; or
  b.     by the article
  
  consisting, wholly or in part, of any filthy, putrid, rotten, decomposed or
  
  diseased animal substance or vegetable substance; or
  c.      by virtue of its
  
  unhygienic processing or the presence in that article of any harmful substance;
  
  or(iv) by the substitution of any inferior or cheaper substance whether wholly
  
  or in part; or
  d.     by addition of a
  
  substance directly or as an ingredient which is not permitted; or
  e.      by the abstraction,
  
  wholly or in part, of any of its constituents; or
  f.      by the article being
  
  so coloured, flavoured or coated, powdered or polished, as to damage or conceal
  
  the article or to make it appear better or of greater value than it really is;
  
  or
  g.     by the presence of
  
  any colouring matter or preservatives other than that specified in respect
  
  thereof; or
  h.      by the article having
  
  been infected or infested with worms, weevils or insects; or
  i.       by virtue of its
  
  being prepared, packed or kept under insanitary conditions; or
  j.       by virtue of its
  
  being mis-branded or sub-standard or food containing extraneous matter; or
  k.      by virtue of
  
  containing pesticides and other contaminants in excess of quantities specified
  
  by regulations.
  1.     
  
  
  
  
  2.     
  
    Any
  
  reference in this Act to a law which is not in force in the State of Jammu and
  
  Kashmir shall, in relation to that State, be construed as a reference to the
  
  corresponding Law, if any, in force in that State.