As India marches toward its ambition of becoming a developed economy, achieving record agricultural yields and expanding complex retail supply chains over the last decade, an unsettling question lingers over millions of households: Is the food reaching our tables actually safe to consume?

Food is the primary necessity of human survival and our first medicine. A society can endure delays in infrastructure projects or temporary slowdowns in industrial output, but it cannot survive the routine contamination of its daily nourishment. When the most basic essentials of air, water and food are compromised, debates about GDP growth, foreign investment and global influence lose their meaning. True national development remains incomplete if citizens cannot trust the food on their plates. Every family, regardless of income, depends on the integrity of the food system several times every day. Safe food is, therefore, not merely a consumer issue; it is a national security issue that directly affects productivity, healthcare costs and the quality of human capital.

India's food ecosystem has transformed dramatically over the last decade. Consumers enjoy unprecedented variety, quick-commerce delivery and year-round availability of fresh produce. Yet, beneath this abundance lies a serious public health crisis.

Since Independence, food adulteration has evolved from an occasional malpractice into a systemic hazard. Vegetables are frequently ripened with hazardous chemicals or coloured with industrial dyes. Fruits are coated with non-food-grade waxes. Milk is diluted or synthesised using detergents and urea. Edible oils are mixed with cheaper alternatives. Commercial kitchens and restaurants are........

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