FSSAI Under Fire: Food Regulator Accused of Gagging Activists Amid Recruitment Scandal and Adulteration Crisis

By April 1, Delhi Police moved to secure information from Twitter Inc regarding the account holders, citing a "victim" who alleged the posts were published with "malicious intent to defame her and damage her reputation." Despite the IP Estate police station’s refusal to divulge specific details, the chilling effect of the litigation became immediate. Activist Nalini Unagar posted on April 2 that she had deleted her posts due to the overwhelming stress of the FIR, signaling a forced silence. Conversely, other handles remained defiant; the handle GemsofBabus mocked the FIR with an applause emoji, while the activist Khurpench questioned why the FSSAI prioritized silencing messengers over addressing the recruitment fraud. Khurpench identified Kavitha Ramasamy (Joint Director), Bharat Pachiya (Deputy Director), Vaidehi Sanjay Kalzunkar (Deputy Director), Sweety Behera (Director), and Saurav Duggal (Assistant Manager) as individuals whose credentials allegedly failed to match the probe’s findings, while noting that Lokendra Kumar (Joint Director) received a clean chit.

The backlash against the FSSAI has been massive, drawing condemnation from high-profile figures who argue the regulator’s priorities are dangerously misplaced. Veteran journalist

Vir Sanghvi questioned whether the body was regulating food or the people who criticize it, while celebrity photographer Atul Kasbekar lambasted the quality of food passing as edible. This administrative storm coincides with a viral video showing a synthetic paneer unit in Surat using palmolein oil, milk solids, and industrial acids to produce 400 kg of adulterated product daily. Former J&K DGP Shesh Paul Vaid described the FSSAI as "defunct," calling for a Government of India intervention to provide the necessary resources to save the country's health. With members of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee previously raising alarms in November 2025 regarding adulterated sweets, the FSSAI’s sudden alacrity in pursuing activists stands in stark contrast to its perceived "sleep mode" regarding food quality, illustrating a disastrous attempt to shoot the messenger while the nation's food safety remains in peril.