Section 21: Pesticides, veterinary drugs residues, antibiotic residues and microbiological counts.

Q: What does Section 21 of The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA) deal with?

Section 21 FSSA pertains to "Pesticides, veterinary drugs residues, antibiotic residues and microbiological counts.". It is part of the The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, a legislation enacted by the Parliament of India. Section 21 of The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA) governs pesticides, veterinary drugs residues, antibiotic residues and microbiological counts. As verified on 19 May 2026.

Q: Is Section 21 FSSA still in force?

Yes, Section 21 of the The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is currently in force across the Republic of India.

Q: What is धारा 21 FSSA?

धारा 21 FSSA is the Devanagari Hindi reference for Section 21 of the The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Section 21 of The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA) governs pesticides, veterinary drugs residues, antibiotic residues and microbiological counts. As verified on 19 May 2026.

Q: What is Dhara 21 FSSA?

Dhara 21 FSSA is the Roman Hindi reference for Section 21 of the The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. "Dhara" means "Section" in Hindi. Section 21 of The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA) governs pesticides, veterinary drugs residues, antibiotic residues and microbiological counts. As verified on 19 May 2026.

Q: How to cite Section 21 of The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006?

Cite as: "Section 21, The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSSA)" in legal briefs. For academic writing, use the BlueBook format: The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, § 21 (India).

Law on Tips Editorial Board

(1) No article of food shall contain insecticides or pesticides residues, veterinary drugs residues, antibiotic residues, solvent residues, pharmacological active substances and micro-biological counts in excess of such tolerance limit as may be specified by regulations.

(2) No insecticide shall be used directly on article of food except fumigants registered and approved under the Insecticides Act, 1968 (46 of 1968).

Explanation. - For the purposes of this section,—

(1) "pesticide residue " means any specified substance in food resulting from the use of a pesticide and includes any derivatives of a pesticide, such as conversion products, metabolites, reaction products and impurities considered to be of toxicological significance and also includes such residues coming into food from environment;

(2) "residues of veterinary drugs " include the parent compounds or their metabolites or both in any edible portion of any animal product and include residues of associated impurities of the veterinary drugs concerned.