New Delhi, April 7 (NationPress) The Delhi High Court delivered a significant judgment on Tuesday, asserting that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) lacks the authority to oversee the regulation of animal or cattle feed. This decision indicates that such regulatory powers are beyond the boundaries defined by the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia dismissed a petition from Godrej Agrovet Ltd, thereby annulling Note (c) associated with Regulation 2.5.2 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations.

The court determined that the contested provision, which forbade the use of meat and bone meal in feed for milk and meat-producing animals while requiring compliance with BIS standards for commercial feed, was deemed ultra vires the primary statute.

The bench noted, "Any regulation enacted by the Food Authority that pertains to cattle feed or animal feed transcends the limits of the Act, 2006," further clarifying that the original statute confines the jurisdiction of the FSSAI strictly to food intended for human consumption.

"The structural design of the Act is such that its provisions are intended solely for regulating food for human consumption and do not extend to feed for cattle or other animals," the court further remarked.

Additionally, the Delhi High Court asserted that terms like "food safety", "primary food", and "unsafe food" as stated in the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, cannot be broadly interpreted to encompass cattle feed or animal feed.

"Given the absence of explicit inclusion of any substance categorized as food for animal consumption or cattle feed in the definition clause, it is our considered view that the FSSAI's functions are exclusively related to food for human consumption and do not extend to animal or cattle feed," the ruling stated.

Utilizing established principles of delegated legislation, the bench concluded that the FSSAI had overstepped its rule-making authority.

"We confidently conclude that the contested Regulations fall outside the jurisdiction of the Act, 2006, and thus, are ultra vires the Act itself," the ruling affirmed.

The bench also invalidated directives issued by the FSSAI in 2019, 2020, and 2021 that mandated BIS certification for commercial cattle feed, clarifying that such standards are voluntary unless explicitly notified by the Central government.

"The imposition of any BIS standard as mandatory is within the purview of the Central Government... and in the absence of such directives, the Food Authority lacked the competence to require the BIS standard to be mandatory," the Delhi High Court stated.

"While it is possible for BIS standards to be made mandatory for commercial feeds, appropriate legal recourse would need to be followed for that purpose," it concluded.