The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Centre for not notifying the new Food Safety Act and also not setting up the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India despite the Act for providing unadulterated food and drinks to the people had received the Presidential nod in August 2006.

A bench headed by Justice A K Mathur asked the Centre to notify the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 by December 2007 so that the new authority was established to check adulteration in food and drinks in the country.

The court expressed its anguish when Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium Subramanium submitted that an inter-ministerial coordination committee was set up to look after the setting up of the authority.

“A steering group under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary, including the secretaries of all relevant ministries — Health, Food Processing etc., has been set up for overseeing the implementation of the Act and setting up of the authority,” said the application filed by the government.

“Where is the need for another committee for implementation of the act, which just needs notification?” the court observed.

Senior Counsel Harish Salve appearing for Coke submitted that it was a disgruntled attempt by the petitioner to stop advertisement money which was spent by the MNCs.

This petition did not require judicial intervention, he added.

Senior counsel Harish Salve said the petitioner’s agenda was to target the two cola majors, Coke and Pepsi.
All additives used were permitted ones.

However, an impression was sought to be created that soft drinks per se were harmful.

Senior Counsel Prashant Bhushan appearing for the petitioner had cited scientific reports to show that the additives and preservatives used in cold drinks were more harmful than tobacco.