On Friday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) in response to a media report that the Baddi Industrial area of Solan in Himachal Pradesh has become a production hub for spurious vitamins, syrups, and drugs sold as food supplements by nutraceutical companies.

The commission said that it has taken suo motu notice of a media report asserting that the Baddi Industrial area of Solan in Himachal Pradesh has turned into a centre for the manufacture of fake vitamins, syrups, and medications that are sold as food supplements by nutraceutical firms.

The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 grants more than 100 nutraceutical businesses with permits to produce only food items and permission to operate in the region. As a result, these are outside the purview of the DCGI and the State Food Safety Department. Companies are profiting from the disorganization of government agencies.

According to the NHRC statement, "Five enterprises were sealed on May 30, 2023, three of which had permits to manufacture food items, which are prohibited from manufacturing allopathic medications by law. Prior to 2006, the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, applied to all nutraceutical businesses, and the Food Safety Department of the State had the authority to test samples, conduct investigations, and issue licenses. However, after the passage of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, all authority was transferred to central agencies.

"Reportedly, the licenses of these companies are granted by the FSSAI under the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, which manages to visit Himachal Pradesh for checking the samples hardly once or twice a year only if any complaint is received," it added. 

Neither the Drug Controller nor the Food Supply Department of the State can conduct tests on the samples of the drugs and inquiries against these companies," the statement said. 

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