AP food checks decline even as violations continue

Vijayawada: Food safety enforcement in Andhra Pradesh has shown a declining trend in sample collection over the past three years, even as a significant number of food items continue to fail quality standards, according to data obtained by STOI from the AP state food safety department. The data shows that the number of food samples collected across the state fell from 6,443 in 2023-24 to 5,984 in 2024-25, before dropping sharply to 3,901 in 2025-26. Despite the decline in sampling, the proportion of non-conforming samples remains significant. In 2023-24, as many as 472 samples were found to be non-compliant. This figure rose to 514 in 2024-25 before declining to 310 in 2025-26. A closer examination of violations reveals that substandard quality continues to be the most common issue. In 2023-24, 331 samples were categorised as substandard, followed by 260 in 2024-25 and 162 in 2025-26. Unsafe samples — posing potential health risks — stood at 133, 198 and 145, respectively, over the three-year period. Labelling defects and misbranding cases witnessed a sharp spike in 2024-25, with 52 instances recorded compared to just three in the previous year. However, such violations were negligible or unreported in 2025-26. Cases related to misleading claims remained low throughout the period, with five cases in 2023-24, four in 2024-25 and three in 2025-26. Officials said that while the reduction in non-conforming samples in 2025-26 is a positive sign, the steep fall in sample collection raises concerns over the intensity of enforcement.Food safety experts, meanwhile, stressed the need for consistent and widespread sampling to ensure public health protection and compliance across the food industry.