USFDA Refuses Entry of 1,150 Indian Products in 6 Months

The USFDA (United States Food and Drugs Administration) refused entry of 1,150 Indian products including spices, basmati rice and generic medicines during January-June period citing mis-branding and alleged contamination among others. "According to Import Refusal Report data available on the USFDA website, 1,150 refusals of Indian products were recorded in the last 6 months i.e. from January to June 2015," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The products from India which were refused entry included fried snack foods, bakery products, spices (ground, mixed) and seasonings, tamarind and other pastes, basmati rice, food with supplemental nutrients added, soft drinks, shrimps and prawns, harvested fisheries, herbals and botanicals, miscellaneous patent medicines, generic medicines, bath soaps and detergents, she said. "The reasons given for the refusals vary from problems in packaging, labelling, misbranding, alleged contamination, and residue levels etc," she added.(USFDA Says Lead in Maggi Within Acceptable Levels)
 

To deal with  the issue, the government has taken steps that include tightening labelling rules and making it mandatory for companies to clearly mention the dates of manufacturing, best before use and expiry, improving pre-export inspection, greater emphasis on standards through sensitisation of exporters for compliance of regulatory issues through export promotion agencies, the minister said.(US Food Security Rejects Indian Snacks: Deem Most of Them Unfit for Consumption)

India is also taking up these at bilateral trade forums, Sitharaman said. The bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 64.26 billion in 2014-15.