Two Acts, one mandi, zero food safety

Context: As the APMCs will be a part of the procurement process for a while despite the amendments, there is a need to focus on the safety standards of the APMC to avoid the future spread of diseases like COVID.

Role of APMCs in ensuring safety:

• It represents an entire ecosystem of architecture: 

• It involves vehicular movement, godown, essential utilities, storage, and waste management.
• WHO maintains that they are essential settings for maintain the health and nutritional status of urban populations.

• May act as Super-spreaders: evident from the latest pandemic spread from the wet markets in Wuhan; 

• 70% of diarrhoeal infections amongst children in developing countries are foodborne.
• 33% of illness in developed countries are foodborne 

Reasons for unhygienic markets in India:

• No interaction between the two governing laws: Two Acts, single Mandi, and zero food safety
• Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006:
• • • • Leaves APMC out of radar: Traditionally focused on manufactured food products due to defined processes and easy sampling.
      • Staff shortage: leads to difficulty in covering even the manufactured products.
      • Political lobbies: creates hurdles in the inspections of APMCs

• Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMC) Act :

• No food safety norms: given under the APMC Act and only focuses on the regulation of trade practices and establishments. 

Way Forward: Integrating FSSA and APMC.

• Create ‘healthy market Policies’: in consultation with diverse stakeholders and assigning state marketing boards as the nodal agency for this purpose. 
• Create awareness: by organizing workshops to be conducted by APMC operators.
• Independent agency for monitoring: ensure adherence to the healthy markets policy at regular time intervals.
• Penalty Clauses under FSSA: should be applied to the APMC in case of divergence from set targets.
• Regular Evaluation: on the impact of safe markets should be conducted.
• Include food safety norms: as done by Maharashtra’s APMC Act where ‘safety’ should be taken care of utilizing the surplus of the individual food markets.