Another regulator has quietly emerged in India without much hulabaloo. It is the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. They have a website FSSAI.
It has got its teeth from the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. click here for the act. As with all regulators, regulations have been issued one of which is the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011(click here for regulations) which apparently seeks to introduce some kind of licensing regime in the food industry. One look at the definition of "food business" in the act seems to indicate an all inclusive and pervasive definition - it means any undertaking whether for profit or not, and whether public or private carrying out any of the activities relating to any stage of manufacture, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution of food, import and includes food services, sale of food or food ingredients. This definition brings within its ambit all the restaurants, cafes, canteens, road side eateries, hawker stalls and by including distribution of food in it, also includes malls, kiranas etc.
The Licensing Regulations requires the food business operators to obtain license from the Central/ State licensing authorities - The central licensing authorities come into play only in case of food business specified in the annexure I to the regulations which are basically large food operators, or multi state food business operators or food business operators in railways, ports, airports etc. In all other cases the license has to be taken from the state licensing authority.
A time period of one year from the notification of the regulations was given for obtaining the license. This time period expired on 4th August 2012 and thereafter vide an advisory dated 25th July 2012 this time period was extended by another six months from 5th August 2012. Therefore the six months period expires on 4th February 2013 before which the license from the relevant authority needs to be obtained. Failure to obtain license obviously poses some kind of problem for the business operator and he has to stop conducting his business. click here for the advisory
There are conditions of license which the food business operators have to comply with such as appointing one technical person to supervise the production process, maintain factory's sanitary and hygienic standards and workers' hygiene, place of storage of food items should be separated from privies, urinals, drains etc., temperature control etc. in the premises etc. There are specific sanitary and hygienic standards to be maintained for food business operators, food manufacturers, processors, handlers in schedule 4 of the regulations.
It has got its teeth from the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. click here for the act. As with all regulators, regulations have been issued one of which is the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations 2011(click here for regulations) which apparently seeks to introduce some kind of licensing regime in the food industry. One look at the definition of "food business" in the act seems to indicate an all inclusive and pervasive definition - it means any undertaking whether for profit or not, and whether public or private carrying out any of the activities relating to any stage of manufacture, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution of food, import and includes food services, sale of food or food ingredients. This definition brings within its ambit all the restaurants, cafes, canteens, road side eateries, hawker stalls and by including distribution of food in it, also includes malls, kiranas etc.
The Licensing Regulations requires the food business operators to obtain license from the Central/ State licensing authorities - The central licensing authorities come into play only in case of food business specified in the annexure I to the regulations which are basically large food operators, or multi state food business operators or food business operators in railways, ports, airports etc. In all other cases the license has to be taken from the state licensing authority.
A time period of one year from the notification of the regulations was given for obtaining the license. This time period expired on 4th August 2012 and thereafter vide an advisory dated 25th July 2012 this time period was extended by another six months from 5th August 2012. Therefore the six months period expires on 4th February 2013 before which the license from the relevant authority needs to be obtained. Failure to obtain license obviously poses some kind of problem for the business operator and he has to stop conducting his business. click here for the advisory
There are conditions of license which the food business operators have to comply with such as appointing one technical person to supervise the production process, maintain factory's sanitary and hygienic standards and workers' hygiene, place of storage of food items should be separated from privies, urinals, drains etc., temperature control etc. in the premises etc. There are specific sanitary and hygienic standards to be maintained for food business operators, food manufacturers, processors, handlers in schedule 4 of the regulations.
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