Foodstuff and food - Indian Laws - General

Foodstuff and food Foodstuff , according to the Chambers Dictionary means A substance used as food. According to Words and Phrases , Permanent Edition (volume 17, page 313) foodstuffs means food which has been subjected to canning or similar preparation . The New Oxford Encyclopedic Dictionary defines foodstuff as material for food and foodstuffs as articles of food in bulk. As per Words and Phrases (Permanent edition, volume 17, at page 306) food , in the general sense of the term, is that which is eaten or drunk for nourishment. It is a nutritive material taken into the body for the purpose of growth, repair or maintenance; that which is eaten or drunk for nourishment ; whatever supplies nourishment to organic bodies. It is a general term applicable to all that is eaten for the nourishment of the body and includes which is eaten or drunk for nourishment, any substance that is taken in the body which serves, through organic action, to build-up normal structure or supply the waste of tissue, and includes confectionary. At page 310, a distinction is drawn between food and drink . It is stated- Food is a nutritive material absorbed or taken into the body of an organism for purposes of growth or repair and for the maintenance of the vital processes, and, while the words food and drink are, in common usage and understanding, complementary and associate terms, they are far from synonymous, and import a plain and fundamental distinction. Purchaser of beverage in which there was worm could not base action on statutory implied contract that food is wholesome, since food does not include beverage. The New Encyclopaedia Britannica (15th edition, Volume 25, page 49) states the functions of food as under: Functions of food: Food serves three functions in most living organisms. First, it provides materials that are metabolised either by oxidative or by fermentative processes to supply the energy required for the absorption and translocation of nutrients, for the synthesis of cell materials, for motility and locomotion, for excretion of waste products, and for all other activities of the organism. Second, food supplies the electron donors (reducing agents) required for the formation of the reduced coenzymes (enzyme components) necessary for the synthetic processes that occur within the cell. Third, food provides the materials from which all of the structural and catalytic components of the living cell can be assembled by processes sometimes called anabolism. The three roles of food are not mutually exclusive; energy-yielding substances in many organisms may function in all three ways, and essential nutrients, if present in excess, may frequently be metabolized to supply energy. S SAMUEL, MD, HARRISONS MALAYALAM AND ANOTHER VERSUS UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS - 2003 (11) TMI 328 - SUPREME COURT