17.9% of samples failed in 2025-26, down from 28.6% in 2018-19
Testing has more than doubled since 2018-19, and the fail share has fallen. Uttar Pradesh reported half of all failed samples in 2025-26.
Check food safety results
- Read your state's row in the data file. The data file has every state's numbers. You can look up your state's row to see how many samples were tested and how many failed.
- Report a suspect food. If you see a food that may be unsafe, you can report it to the Food Safety Connect portal or the FSSAI helpline 1800 112 100.
- What a high fail share means. A high fail share can mean more bad food or more targeted sampling. A low fail share can mean clean food or less testing.
Quick answers
How many food samples fail in India?
In 2025-26, 17.9% of samples failed, which is 40,023 of 223,808. This is down from 28.6% in 2018-19.
Which states fail the most and why that is not a simple ranking?
Uttar Pradesh had the highest fail share over 2021-22 to 2025-26, with 56.3% of its samples failing. A high fail share can mean more bad food or more targeted sampling, and a low one can mean clean food or light testing.
Which states test the least per head?
In 2021-22 to 2025-26, Jharkhand tested 0.19 samples per 10,000 residents a year on average, the lowest of the big states, then Bihar 0.21.
What happens after a sample fails?
Over five years, 75.1 civil penalties and 3.3 convictions were given for every 100 failed samples. In 2025-26, penalties raised Rs 114.81 crore.
How many failures are label mistakes?
Over 2019-20 to 2023-24, 30.0% of failures were label mistakes or misleading claims. In 2023-24, this share dropped to 13.1%, but the Ministry did not explain why.
Food safety data by year
| Year | samples tested | samples failed | fail rate | tests per 10,000 people | convictions | convictions per 100 failed samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 106,459 | 30,415 | 28.6% | 0.88 | 701 | 2.3 |
| 2019-20 | 118,775 | 29,589 | 24.9% | 0.98 | 821 | 2.8 |
| 2020-21 | 107,829 | 28,347 | 26.3% | 0.89 | 506 | 1.8 |
| 2021-22 | 144,345 | 32,935 | 22.8% | 1.19 | 671 | 2.0 |
| 2022-23 | 177,511 | 44,626 | 25.1% | 1.47 | 1,188 | 2.7 |
| 2023-24 | 170,513 | 33,808 | 19.8% | 1.41 | 1,161 | 3.4 |
| 2024-25 | 170,535 | 34,388 | 20.2% | 1.41 | 1,265 | 3.7 |
| 2025-26 | 223,808 | 40,023 | 17.9% | 1.85 | 1,918 | 4.8 |
Food safety data by state
| State or union territory | tests done 2021-22 to 2025-26 | samples failed | fail rate | tests per 10,000 people yearly | convictions per 100 failed samples | fail rate in 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 2,860 | 54 | 1.9% | 15.03 | 0.0 | |
| Andhra Pradesh | 27,118 | 2,262 | 8.3% | 1.10 | 2.2 | 7.4% |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 1,183 | 43 | 3.6% | 1.71 | 0.0 | 5.2% |
| Assam | 5,410 | 642 | 11.9% | 0.35 | 0.0 | 8.1% |
| Bihar | 11,009 | 453 | 4.1% | 0.21 | 0.0 | 5.1% |
| Chandigarh | 2,149 | 259 | 12.1% | 4.07 | 45.9 | 8.8% |
| Chhattisgarh | 8,411 | 927 | 11.0% | 0.66 | 2.6 | 10.4% |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 790 | 10 | 1.3% | 2.69 | 0.0 | 0.0% |
| Delhi | 12,809 | 862 | 6.7% | 1.53 | 9.4 | 6.5% |
| Goa | 5,162 | 528 | 10.2% | 7.08 | 0.0 | 12.9% |
| Gujarat | 68,356 | 4,437 | 6.5% | 2.26 | 5.8 | 6.9% |
| Haryana | 16,733 | 4,686 | 28.0% | 1.32 | 5.9 | 31.0% |
| Himachal Pradesh | 9,259 | 2,052 | 22.2% | 2.70 | 0.6 | 20.2% |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 44,169 | 4,995 | 11.3% | 7.20 | 1.7 | 10.1% |
| Jharkhand | 3,147 | 1,241 | 39.4% | 0.19 | 1.3 | 27.8% |
| Karnataka | 37,472 | 1,957 | 5.2% | 1.23 | 4.9 | 4.0% |
| Kerala | 54,693 | 7,089 | 13.0% | 3.27 | 10.1 | 11.1% |
| Ladakh | 1,841 | 107 | 5.8% | 13.42 | 0.0 | 5.0% |
| Lakshadweep | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | 68,932 | 9,406 | 13.6% | 1.90 | 2.6 | 6.1% |
| Maharashtra | 38,841 | 6,553 | 16.9% | 0.69 | 0.4 | 17.4% |
| Manipur | 1,269 | 11 | 0.9% | 0.89 | 9.1 | 0.0% |
| Meghalaya | 1,378 | 80 | 5.8% | 0.93 | 0.0 | 5.7% |
| Mizoram | 338 | 3 | 0.9% | 0.62 | 0.0 | 0.5% |
| Nagaland | 835 | 47 | 5.6% | 0.84 | 0.0 | 5.5% |
| Odisha | 7,931 | 1,213 | 15.3% | 0.38 | 0.0 | 5.5% |
| Puducherry | 597 | 86 | 14.4% | 0.96 | 0.0 | 21.6% |
| Punjab | 32,928 | 5,491 | 16.7% | 2.37 | 2.7 | 13.2% |
| Rajasthan | 73,271 | 18,731 | 25.6% | 2.14 | 0.4 | 26.5% |
| Sikkim | 1,248 | 12 | 1.0% | 4.09 | 0.0 | 1.7% |
| Tamil Nadu | 121,371 | 20,163 | 16.6% | 3.36 | 14.2 | 8.9% |
| Telangana | 20,965 | 2,942 | 14.0% | 1.19 | 0.0 | 11.1% |
| Tripura | 576 | 27 | 4.7% | 0.31 | 0.0 | 4.6% |
| Uttar Pradesh | 149,776 | 84,371 | 56.3% | 1.50 | 1.3 | 51.7% |
| Uttarakhand | 9,794 | 1,458 | 14.9% | 1.94 | 1.0 | 11.6% |
| West Bengal | 44,091 | 2,582 | 5.9% | 0.97 | 0.3 | 2.8% |
Failed samples by type each year
| Year | samples failed | labelling issues | unsafe | sub-standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 29,589 | 8,995 (30.4%) | 4,526 (15.5%) | 15,671 (53.7%) |
| 2020-21 | 28,347 | 9,733 (34.3%) | 5,220 (18.4%) | 13,394 (47.3%) |
| 2021-22 | 32,935 | 11,462 (34.8%) | 4,890 (14.8%) | 16,582 (50.3%) |
| 2022-23 | 44,626 | 16,130 (36.1%) | 6,579 (14.7%) | 21,917 (49.1%) |
| 2023-24 | 33,808 | 4,423 (13.1%) | 6,782 (20.1%) | 22,603 (66.9%) |
How I did it
The numbers come from replies by the Health Ministry in Parliament and FSSAI annual reports. The samples are picked by food safety officers, not a random sample of all food on sale. Lab and officer capacity differs by state, so testing rates vary. A failed sample can be a label mistake, not only unsafe food. The 2025-26 numbers are provisional and may change. Population is based on the 2011 Census. No brands are named in the data. Convictions in a year can come from samples taken in earlier years, so the conviction figure is a rough ratio, not a case-by-case follow-up.
Where this comes from
- Lok Sabha UQ 1093 answered 24 Jul 2026
- Lok Sabha UQ 985 answered 24 Jul 2026
- Lok Sabha Starred Q 361 answered 26 Mar 2025 (Ministry of Consumer Affairs, figures 'as informed by FSSAI')
- Lok Sabha UQ 2076 answered 1 Aug 2025
- PIB release 1945166 dated 2 Aug 2023 quoting a Lok Sabha written reply (MoS Consumer Affairs)
- PIB release 2101739 dated 11 Feb 2025 quoting a Rajya Sabha written reply (MoS Health)
- PIB release 2225750 dated 10 Feb 2026 quoting a Rajya Sabha written reply (MoS Health)
- FSSAI Annual Report 2019-20 Table 12
- FSSAI Annual Report 2020-21 Table 14
- FSSAI Annual Report 2021-22 Table 14 (Annual Public Laboratory Testing Report)
- data.gov.in table of Rajya Sabha Session 265 Unstarred Q 902 (published 3 Nov 2024, 2023-24 provisional)
What this can't tell you
- These are not random samples but targeted by food safety officers, and lab and officer capacity varies by state.
- A failed sample may be a label error, not necessarily unsafe food.
- Population data is from the 2011 Census.
- Convictions in a year can come from samples taken in earlier years, making the ratio a rough estimate.
- The 2025-26 numbers are provisional and may change.
Data and code
- Every number on this page with the count behind it (CSV) and the full results (JSON); fssai_enforcement.csv
- Code: https://github.com/devnarsinghani22/india-label-index (enforcement.py)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0
Part of the India Label Index 2026.
Narsinghani, D. (2026). Food Safety Failures in India (2018-19 to 2025-26). India Label Index 2026. https://devnarsinghani22.github.io/india-label-index/fssai-scoreboard/.