Navratri fasts begin as FSSAI orders checks on festive food, including kuttu atta

As Navratri fasts begin across India on Sunday, October 11, 2026, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has told all states and Union Territories to step up inspections and food sampling for the festive season that runs through Navratri and Diwali. In an advisory dated September 29, 2026, and made public in the first week of October, the regulator asked state food safety commissioners to send officers to markets, sweet shops and other sensitive locations to check for adulterated and unsafe food. It named milk products, sweets, edible oils and other festival staples as priorities, and said states may add regional items, citing kuttu (buckwheat) atta and singhara (water chestnut) atta used during fasts in northern and western India as examples.

Fasting during Navratri is one of India's oldest food traditions. Many households switch for nine days to a simpler diet built around fruit, milk, curd and flours such as kuttu, singhara and samak, cooked with rock salt. Done well, this kind of vrat food is light and nourishing. But the same foods are bought in bulk in a short window, which creates room for stale stock, poor storage and adulteration.

The regulator's mention of kuttu and singhara atta is a quiet reminder of that risk. These flours are bought mostly during fasting periods, often loose and unbranded, and can sit in storage for months between festivals. Flour that has gone stale or been contaminated can make people ill, and illnesses linked to kuttu atta have been reported during past Navratri seasons. Asking states to include such items in their checks puts traditional fasting food on the same footing as sweets and dairy.

For families, the advisory is also practical guidance on what to watch. Milk products such as paneer, khoa and ghee, which the regulator expects to see a sharp rise in demand, feature heavily in both fasting meals and Diwali sweets. Buying from licensed sellers, choosing sealed packs of fasting flours with a clear packing date, and avoiding loose flour of unknown age are simple ways to keep the tradition safe.

The real-time reporting requirement matters too. Entering inspection results on digital platforms as they happen should make it easier for the regulator to see where problems are clustering and to act during the festival rather than after it.

Short-term: Shoppers may see more food safety officers and mobile testing vans in markets during Navratri and Diwali, and sellers of unsafe food face sampling and enforcement action.

Long-term: Regular festival-time checks on regional foods such as fasting flours could raise standards for items that are often sold loose and largely escape scrutiny for the rest of the year.

Who is affected: Families observing Navratri fasts, sweet shops, dairies and flour sellers, state food safety departments, and consumers buying festive food across India.

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