FDA texts reminders to eateries, hotels to renew licence and registration

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Pune division has taken a step forward in its mode of communication, and has begun sending SMSes to owners of hotels and restaurants reminding them to get their licence and registration renewed before the due date.

According to the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, licence and registration renewal should be done one month before the due date. Before the act was implemented, owners of food stalls, hotels and restaurants were allowed to complete the renewal process even on the final due. The messages are proving to be a boon for the owners, as it prompts them to think about saving on the late fee, which is Rs 100 per day.
“As per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, licence and registration renewal should have done one month before the due date. Licence holders and person who have registered with FDA have to pay Rs 100 per day as a fine till renewal is done,” said Shivaji Desai, assistant commissioner FDA, Pune division. FDA Pune division is running a special initiative as numerous registrations and licences are pending renewal before December 31, 2012.
“Considering the number of renewals pending and the stipulations as per the new act, we decided to send SMSes to remind owners about renewals, and inform them of the fine for not getting the process done before the due date. We have received calls from many of the owners after the reminders were sent,” said Dilip Sangat, assistant commissioner FDA (Food), Pune.
Vishal Gawade, owner of Maharashtrian Darbar, Vimannagar, who got an SMS, is happy with FDA’s approach. “I had registered my hotel a year ago and was unaware of this new rule as I was quite busy throughout the year. I received message on November 25 and I am happy I paid the renewal fee and only Rs 400 extra, because I was four days late. FDA’s initiative is laudable,” Gawade said.
FDA official Desai added that the rules regarding the renewal details and fine in case of non-payment before due date is mentioned on the license/registration certificate in possession of restaurant and hotel owners, but the FDA’s SMS initiative is an extra service, as it will also create awareness.
Renewal/licence details
Licence/registration renewal pending for around 1,500 establishments with last date being 31 Dec2012 Around 1,000 SMSs sent to owners of hotels, restaurant and food stall so far Licences issued: 23,966 (since August 5, 2011) Registrations done: 44,502 (since August 5, 2011)  Total revenue generated in Pune region: Rs 70,63,650 (since August 5, 2011)

FSSAI to hold licensing melas, workshops to educate FBOs of all states

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will be organising licensing melas and workshops to educate food business operators (FBOs) in various states of India in the months of December 2012 and Janaury 2013.

The deadline for getting licensing and registration is February 4, 2013 (which would lapse three months hence). But some states have not started the process of licensing and registration yet.

In order to solve this problem, FSSAI has come up with this initiative so that they can highlight the importance of obtaining licenses and registering their establishments to the FBOs in various parts of the country.

The states participating in this licensing melas and workshops are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. More than 5,000 FBOs are expected to participate in the licensing melas and workshops.

Manoj Naredi, former president, Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI), informed, “FSSAI is taking the initaitive to educate the food business operators so that they can easily obtain their licenses and also know the importance of food safety.”

“In Jharkhand, the licensing mela and workshop was slated to take place in Ranchi on December 22, 2012, but it has been postponed to January 7 or 8, 2013 due to some date issues,” he said.

Naredi added, “This licensing mela and workshop will be very informative for all the FBOs. The FBOs will be getting to know in details about the process of obtaining the license and thy will be getting a knowledge about how to take care of safety of food which will be a good for both human and animal consumption.”

“There are some hidden things in the licensing and registration process which the FBOs don't know. These will be discussed in the workshop. We will also be highlighting the packaging, storing and other aspects at the workshop. They can get themselves licensed and registered on the spot during the licensing mela and workshops. Around 100 to 150 FBOs from Jharkhand will be participating in this workshop,” he informed.

Lakshmi Kaushal, a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) official, said, “The licensing mela and workshop in West Bengal, which commenced on December 13, 2012, and concluded the following day, was very informative.”

“The workshops and seminars took place on December 13 at Bhanu Bhawan, Darjeeling and on December 14 at Siliguri Merchant Conference Hall, Siliguri. They were very informative for the FBOs. More than 500 FBOs participated and some of them who brought their documentation got themselves licensed and registered,” she informed.

The licensing mela and workshops are slated to take place in Surat, Gujarat on December 19, 2012; December 20 and 21, 2012 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; December 21, 2012 in Pune, Maharashtra and Balasore, Orissa; December 22, 2012 in Ranchi, Jharkhand; December 23, 2012 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu; December 27, 2012 in Nagpur, Maharashtra; December 28, 2012 in Jaipur, Rajasthan, and December 30 in Bikaner, Rajasthan.

Facilities for participants & FBOs

 On-the-spot submission for all the papers needed for licensing

 Assistance in case of difficulty in filling up the documents and forms

 Solution to queries pertaining to the licensing of a food business operator