New Delhi, Apr 7 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday quashed an FSSAI directive mandating that milk and meat-producing animals shall not be given feed containing meat or bone meal.
A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, related to the regulation of "food for human consumption," did not include cattle feed or animal feed, and therefore, FSSAI has no power to issue such a mandate.
The court passed the verdict on a petition by Godrej Agrovet Ltd challenging the FSSAI regulation, which stated that milk and meat-producing animals, excluding poultry, pig, and fish, shall not be fed feed containing meat or bone meal.
The mandate proscribed any such feed that included internal organs, blood meal and tissue of bovine or porcine origin materials, except milk and milk products.
The court stated that any regulation made by the food authority to regulate cattle feed or animal feed travelled beyond the scope of its power.
The petition also assailed FSSAI's orders directing that commercial feeds or feed materials intended for food-producing animals must comply with BIS standards.
In its judgment, the court said that FSSAI's prescription requiring commercial feed to comply with BIS standards was also beyond the scope of the law, as such compliance was voluntary in nature.
The court stated that the authorities could not furnish any order issued by the central government mandating BIS standards for commercial feeds.
"In our opinion is that the impugned Regulation as also the directions dated 10.12.2019, 27.01.2020 and 01.01.2021 are illegal and thus not tenable being ultra vires to the Act, 2006. The writ petition is allowed and the Note (c) appended to Regulation 2.5.2 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives), Regulation 2011, is hereby quashed. The directives dated 10.12.2019, 27.01.2020 and 01.01.2021 issued by the Food Authority are also quashed," the court said.
