law: Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954
  2. Definitions. -
  In this Act unless the
  
  context otherwise requires, --
  1[(i)
  
  "adulterant" means any material which is or could be employed for the purpose
  
  of adulteration;]
  2
  
  [(i-a)] "adulterated"-an article of food shall be deemed to be adulterated---
  (a) If the article
  
  sold by a vendor is not of the nature, substance or quality, demanded by the
  
  purchaser and is to his prejudice, or is not of the nature, substance or
  
  quality, which it purports or is, represented to be;
  (b) If the article contains any other substance which affect, or
  
  if the article is so processed as to affect injuriously the nature, substance
  
  or quality thereof;
  (c) If any inferior or cheaper substance has been substituted
  
  wholly or in part for the article so as to affect injuriously the nature
  
  substance or quality thereof;
  (d) If any constituent of the article has been wholly or in part
  
  abstracted so as to affect injuriously the nature, substance or quality
  
  thereof.
  (e) If the article has been prepared, packed or kept under in
  
  sanitary conditions whereby it has become contaminated or injurious to health;
  (f) If the article consists wholly or in part of any filthy,
  
  putrid,  3[* * *], rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable
  
  substance or is insect-infested or is otherwise unfit for human consumption;
  (g) If the article is obtained from a diseased animal;
  (h) If the article contains any poisonous or other ingredient
  
  which renders it injurious to health:
  (i) If the container of the article is composed, whether wholly 
  
  or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which renders its 
  
  (contents injurious to health; 
  4[(j) If any coloring matter, other than that prescribed in
  
  respect thereof is present in the article, or if the amounts of the prescribed
  
  coloring matter which is present in the article are not within the prescribed
  
  limits of variability;]
  (k) If the article contains any prohibited preservative or
  
  permitted preservative in excess of' the prescribed limits;
  5[(l) If' the quality or purity of the article falls below the
  
  prescribed standards or its constituents are present in quantities not within
  
  the prescribed limits of variability but which renders it injurious to health;]
  (m) If
  
  the quality or purity of the article falls below the prescribed standard or its
  
  constituents are present in quantities not within the prescribed limits of
  
  variability but which does not render it injurious to health:
  Provided that, where the
  
  quality or purity of the article, being a primary food has fallen below the
  
  prescribed standards or its constituents are present in quantities not within
  
  the prescribed limits of variability, in either case, solely due to natural
  
  causes and beyond the control of human agency, then, such article shall not be
  
  deemed to be adulterated within the meaning of this sub-clause.
  Explanation. - Where two or more
  
  articles of primary food are mixed together and the resultant article of food-
  (a) Is stored, sold or
  
  distributed under a name which denotes the ingredients thereof; and
  (b) Is not injurious
  
  to health, Then, such resultant article shall not be deemed to be adulterated
  
  within the meaning of this clause;
  (ii) "Central Food
  
  Laboratory" means any laboratory or institute established or specified under
  
  Sec. 4;
  (iii) "Committee"
  
  means the Central Committee for Food Standards constituted under Sec. 3;
  (iv) "Director of the
  
  Central Food Laboratory" means the person appointed by the Central Government
  
  by notification in the Official Gazette as the Director of the Central Food
  
  Laboratory and includes any person appointed by the Central Government in like
  
  manner to perform all or any of the functions of the Director under this Act:
  6[Provided that
  
  no person who has any financial interest in the manufacture, import or sale of
  
  any article of food shall be appointed to be a Director under this clause;]
  7[(v) "Food" means any
  
  article used as food or drink for human consumption other than drugs and water
  
  and includes,
  (a) Any
  
  article, which ordinarily enters into, or is used in the composition or
  
  preparation of, human food,
  (b) Any flavoring matter or condiments, and
  (c) Any other
  
  article which the Central Government may, having regard to its use, nature,
  
  substance or quality declare, by notification in the official Gazette, as food
  
  for the purposes of this Act;]
  7[(vi) "Food (Health)
  
  Authority" means the Director of Medical and Health Services or the Chief
  
  Officer in-charge of health administration in a State, by whatever designation
  
  he is known, and includes any officer empowered by the Central Government or
  
  the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to exercise the
  
  powers and perform the duties of the Food (Health) Authority under this Act
  
  with respect to such local area as may be specified in the notification;]
  (vii)  
  
  "Local area" means any area, whether urban or rural, declared by 8[the Central
  
  Government or the State Government] by notification the Official Gazette, to be
  
  a local area for the purposes of this Act;
  (viii) "Local
  
  authority" means in the case of:
  (1) A
  
  local area which is-
  (a) A municipality, the municipal board or municipal corporation;
  (b) A cantonment, the cantonment authority;
  (c) A notified area, the notified committee;
  (2) Any
  
  other area, such authority as may be prescribed by 9[the Central Government or
  
  the State Government] under this Act;
  10[(viii-a) "Local
  
  (Health) Authority", in relation to a local area, means the officer appointed
  
  by the Central Government or the State Government by notification in the
  
  Official Gazette, to be in-charge of' health administration in such area with
  
  such designation as may be specified therein;
  (Viii-b) "Manufacture"
  
  includes any process incidental or ancillary to the manufacture of an article
  
  of food;]
  (ix) "Misbranded"-an
  
  article of food shall be deemed to be, misbranded-
  (a) If
  
  it is an imitation of, 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 labeled so as to indicate its true character;
  (b) If
  
  it is falsely stated to be the product of any place or country
  (c) If'
  
  it is sold by a name which belongs to another article of food;
  (d) If'
  
  it is so colored, flavored or coated, powered or polished that the fact that
  
  the article damaged is concealed or if the article is made to appear better or
  
  of greater value than it really is;
  (e) If
  
  false claims are made for it upon the label or otherwise; 
  (f) If,
  
  when sold in packages which have been sealed or prepared by or at the instance
  
  of the manufacturer or producer and which bear his name and address, the
  
  contents of each package are not conspicuously and correctly stated on the
  
  outside there of within the limits of variability prescribed under this Act:
  (g) If
  
  the package containing it, or the label on the package bears any statement,
  
  design of 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;
  (h) If
  
  the package containing it or the label on the package bears the name of a
  
  fictitious individual or company as the manufacturer or producer of the
  
  article;
  (i) If it purports to
  
  be, or is represented as being, for special dietary uses, unless its label
  
  bears such information as may be prescribed concerning its vitamin, mineral, or
  
  other dietary properties in order sufficiently to inform its purchaser as to
  
  its value for such uses:
  (j) If
  
  it contains any artificial flavoring, artificial coloring or chemical
  
  preservative, without a declaratory label stating that fact, or in
  
  contravention of the requirements of this Act or rules made thereunder
  (k) f it
  
  is not labeled in accordance with the requirements of this Act or rules made
  
  thereunder:
  (x) "Package" means a
  
  box, bottle, gasket, tin, barrel, case, receptacle, sack, bag, wrapper or other
  
  thing in which an article of food is placed or packed;
  (xi) "Premises"
  
  include any shop, stall  or place where any article of food is sold or
  
  manufactured or stored for sale:
  (xii) "Prescribed"
  
  means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
  11[xii-a) "Primary
  
  food" means any article of food, being a produce of agriculture or horticulture
  
  in its natural form;]
  (xiii) "Sale" with its
  
  grammatical 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:
  (xiv) "Sample" means a
  
  sample of any article of food taken under the provisions of this Act or any
  
  rules made thereunder:
  (xv) The words
  
  "unwholesome" and "noxious" when used in relation to an article of food mean
  
  respectively that the article is harmful to health or repugnant to human use.
  STATE AMENDMENT
  Maharashtra. - In Sec.
  
  2 of the Prevention of' Food Adulteration Act. 1954 (37of] 1954) to Cl. (VI)
  
  the following proviso shall be added
  "Provided that the
  
  Commissioner of Food and Drugs Administration Maharashtra State, appointed as
  
  such by the State Government shall on the commencement of the Prevention of
  
  Food Adulteration Maharashtra (Amendment) Act, 1969 (.XIII of 1970), be the
  
  Food (Health) Authority in the State of Maharashtra." 1
  In Cl. (viii). After
  
  sub-clause (2), the following proviso shall be added, namely:
  "Provided that 'local
  
  authority' in the case of a local area in the State of Maharashtra, means such
  
  authority or officer of the State Government as the State Government may, by
  
  notification in the Official Gazette, appoint for the local area specified in
  
  the notification." 
  1. Ins. by Act 34 of
  
  1976, Sec. 2 (w.e.f. Ist.  April, 1976).
  2. Clause (f)
  
  renumbered as Cl. (i-a) by Sec. 2 ibid.
  3. The word
  
  "disgusting" omitted by Sec. 2 ibid.
  4. Subs.
  
  by Sec. 2 ibid, for the sub-clause (f) (w.e.f. Ist. April, 1976).
  5. Subs. by ibid, for
  
  the sub-clause (i) (w.e.f. Ist. April, 1976).
  6. Ins. by Act 34 of
  
  l976, Sec.2 (w.e.f. Ist April, 1976)
  7. Subs. by ibid.
  8. Subs. by Act 49 of
  
  1964. Sec. 2 for "the State Government" (w.e.f. Ist. March, 1965).
  9. Ins. by Act 34 of
  
  1976 Sec. 2 (w.e.f. Ist.  April, 1976).
  10. Subs. by Act 49 of
  
  1964. Sec. 2 for "the State Government" (w.e.f. Ist. March 1965.
  11. Ins. by Act 34 of
  
  1976. Sec. 2 (w.e.f. Ist. April, 1976).
  12. Vide the
  
  Maharashtra Act, 1970 (XIII of 1970), published in the Maharashtra Government
  
  Gazette. Extraordinary, Pt. IV. No. 16 dated 12the. March, 1970).