USFDA refuses 1,150 Indian goods’ entry in just six months

"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.

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.