When India launched the State Food Safety Index (SFSI) on World Food Safety Day in 2019, it marked an important milestone in the implementation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. For the first time, states and Union Territories were systematically assessed on their food safety performance, creating transparency, accountability, and healthy competition.
Seven years later, as the world observes World Food Safety Day 2026 under the theme ‘From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere,’ the time may have come to ask a simple but important question:
Should the State Food Safety Index continue to measure what it measures today?
The answer is both yes and no.
Yes, because the Index has undoubtedly been a success. It helped put food safety on the governance agenda. States strengthened laboratories, recruited Food Safety Officers, expanded surveillance, improved licensing systems, trained food handlers, and invested in consumer awareness. Food safety became a measurable governance priority rather than an invisible regulatory function.
The Index also helped operationalise the vision of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which sought to replace multiple food laws with a unified, science-based and risk-based food safety framework. By providing annual benchmarking, it encouraged States to build the institutional foundations necessary for effective food safety governance.
But the challenges of 2026 are very different from those of 2019.
When the Index was introduced, India’s priority was to build capacity. Naturally, the Index focused on inputs and processes: Manpower, inspections, sampling, laboratory infrastructure, training programmes, and awareness campaigns.
That was the right approach then.
Today, however, the more important question is whether these systems are actually delivering safer food.
A state may conduct thousands of inspections. But are food businesses becoming more compliant? A state may collect large numbers of samples. But are repeat violations declining? Laboratories may be testing more samples. But are the findings translating into corrective action and risk reduction? Awareness campaigns may be widespread, but are consumers making safer food choices and reporting violations more frequently?
In short, we need to move from measuring activity to measuring effectiveness.
The real purpose of a food safety system is not to maximise inspections or sample collection. It is to reduce risks, prevent food-borne illnesses, improve compliance, and build consumer confidence.
The next generation of the State Food Safety Index should, therefore, place greater emphasis on outcomes.
Indicators such as reduction in repeat violations, compliance levels among high-risk food businesses, effectiveness of risk-based inspections, speed of enforcement actions, food recall performance, consumer grievance resolution, and adoption of preventive food safety systems deserve greater weight. States should also be rewarded for innovations that improve food safety outcomes rather than merely increasing regulatory activity.
The Index must also evolve to address emerging realities. The climate crisis is increasing food safety risks through rising temperatures, changing pest patterns, extreme weather events, and growing pressure on cold-chain infrastructure. Food delivery platforms, cloud kitchens, e-commerce food businesses, and rapidly changing consumption patterns are reshaping the food environment. These developments were far less significant when the Index was conceived.
Equally important is the issue of public trust. Food safety is not only a regulatory issue; it is also a confidence issue. Consumers should feel assured that the food they buy from a street vendor, restaurant, supermarket, online platform, or local market is safe to consume. Measuring consumer confidence and responsiveness of the system may, therefore, become an important component of future assessments.
Seven years is a long time in public policy. Every successful governance tool must periodically evolve to remain relevant.
The first phase of the State Food Safety Index helped states build capacity.
The second phase should help them demonstrate results.
As India aspires to become a global food leader and one of the world’s largest food markets, success can no longer be measured only by the number of officers appointed, inspections conducted, or samples tested. It must increasingly be measured by safer food environments, stronger consumer confidence, lower risks, and better public health outcomes.
The State Food Safety Index remains one of India’s most important food governance innovations. Revisiting its indicators and weightages is not a criticism of the Index; it is a recognition of its success and maturity.
The question before us is no longer whether states are doing more.
The question is whether the system is delivering safer food.
That is the shift that World Food Safety Day 2026 calls upon us to make, moving from measuring effort to measuring impact, and from burden to solutions.
Safe food everywhere requires not only strong food safety systems, but also smarter ways of assessing whether those systems are truly working.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Pawan Agarwal, CEO, Food Future Foundation and former CEO, FSSAI.
